Rise of the Je'daii Empire
by SaiyatonianSage
Summary: Jedi and Sith, the anomalies of the Force that has caused an imbalance for millennias and now it has created the Clone Wars. Ralem Solstice, born from the Force and the Father, leader of the Je'daii Order (ancestors to the Jedi) shall bring a new dynasty to the galaxy as he brings true peace to everyone through eliminating the corrupt both in the Seperatists and the Republic.
1. Son of the Suns

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything pertaining to the Star Wars franchise, all rights are acquired to Disney. The only things I own are my OC's Ralem Solstice.**

 **"Speaking"**

 **'Thoughts'**

 _ **'Telepathic'**_

 **Ralem's Collective:**

Ashoka Tano

Asajj Ventress

Padme Amidala

Riyo Chuchi

Sabren Wren

Satele Shan

Shae Vizla

Zule Xiss

T'ra Saa

Kass Tod

Shaak Ti

Aayla Secura

Barris Offee

Luminara

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

 **13 billion BBY (Before Battle of Yavin)**

Long before the Galatic Republic, the Big Bang had already taken place, creating the universe. Many believed that it was approximately the year in which a cloud of dust and gas within the universe that was one-hundred thousand lightyears across experienced a gravitic collapse; the cloud coalesced to form a disk of the same dimension that revolved around an extremely massive blackhole, the galaxy.

Amongst the first lifeforms to exceed the mortal comprhension of the word were the Celestials, mysterious beings who were thought to be capable of restructuring space on a massive scale, lived in the galaxy. Also known as the Architects, they were considered one of the earliest and most potent cultures of their time that were identified by the colossal objects that they had left behind. Despite their achievements, little evidence remained of where the Architects came from and what was their eventual fate. Many of their extraordinary works and machines were known to have survived the ages with some races claiming the engineering marvel that was the Centerpoint Station, an ancient space station capable of moving entire planets with its tractor beams, was the product of their civilization.

Billions of years went by before the Celestials dwindled away to the point of being thought as legends and myths, however three remaining Celestials remained behind. They would be known as the Father, the Son, and the Daughter.

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

 **1,000,000 BBY**

The Ones coalescted out of a gyser on an unnamed tropical planet; the Ones intially lived in peace and harmony in the home they made for themselves near the site of the gyser. The Father warned his children to never drink from the Font of Power, or bathe in the Pool of Knowledge; however, they eventually disobeyed his orders, with the Son drinking from the Font, giving him the power of the Dark Side, while the Daughter bathed in the Pool, bestowing her the power of the Light Side. The sibilings then claimed areas of the jungle for themselves and started to fight each other, while the Father tried to keep the peace between them with no such luck.

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

 **100,000 BBY**

One day, a young woman somehow came to their world. She intitially became the Servant, serving and catering to the One's needs. But it was not long before the Servant became part of the One's family, filling in the role of the Mother. The Mother kept the peace between the warring siblings and doted on the Father, ensuring the family's happiness for many years. Under her guidance, the Son began to use his destructive powers for something useful- he carved out caves and passages in the walls of the valley they lived- and the siblings restored their home to its former glory, repairing the damage and negelct caused by the conflict of their rivalry.

But as the years went by, the Mother began to age while her family remained ageless. In her old age, she could no longer control the Son and Daughter's rivalry, and she began to fear that her family would abandon her. So in order to hold onto the life she'd had, the Mother decided to commit the Forbidden. While the Father was distracted by his warring children, she snuck a drink from the Font of Power just as the Son had done long ago. She then completed her transgression by bathing in the Pool of Knowledge like the Daughter, but the Father discovered her. But unlike the Ones, she was mortal, and so the Font and the Pool corrupted her. They granted her power, but twisted her mind and body, creating the dark side entity known as Abeloth.

Abeloth used her new powers to dominate her adopted children, subduing them and forcing them to bow to her before the Font of Power. But at this point the Father, horrified and disappointed in Abeloth, stepped in. He departed the planet with his children, leaving Abeloth stranded alone and fulfilling her deepest fear- her family abandoned her. This drove her to madness, fueling her desire to be loved and adored. Knowing that Abeloth would be a danger to others, the Son and the Daughter took control of the Killik hives from Alderaan and used them as workers. By joining the hivemind, the Ones shared their immense power in the Force with the Killiks. After their creations were completed, the Son and the Daughter removed their power from the hives, and retreated with the Father to Mortis so that he might control them and keep the Force in balance.

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

 **36,453 BBY on Mortis**

The Father stood upon the edge of a cliff watching his children once again fighting, the landscape rising and tearing itself apart from the sheer power that the Son and the Daughter held. He figured that after the events with Abeloth that they would put an end to their senseless and meaningless squabble but it seemed to be a forlorn dream from a senile old man. Much as he didn't want to admit it, he missed Abeloth; she was the key to everything. She was the only one who could maintain peace and control between the warring siblings which is something the Father didn't really have the heart to do. Plus the fact that he did enjoy her company when the children were actually working together on their projects, he was a damned fool; if he was more observant on her condition and aging then all this could have been avoided. But he was so caught up in his own work that he didn't see the problem right in front of him.

The Father rubbed his face in agitiation and let out a deep sigh. When he reopened them the ecosystem was all but barren, in total inahiliation. Fire and smoke rose from the ashes as trees toppled over with thunderous echoes resounding in the Father's ears. The sound of animals crying or roaring quickly rise and fell in the manner of waves, afraid of attracting the person or persons responsible.

"That is enough," the Father said sternly. "I've let this continue on for far too long now. I can't watch my children try to murder themselves for this ongoing balancement of peace any longer, there has to be another way to achieve balance in the Force without tipping the other overboard." He stroked his beard in ponderment racking his brain with thousands upon thousands of different answers but none of them came to the desired effect he wished for.

'Abeloth.' The Father's sudden realization dawned on him finally realizing the answer.

"Of course, she has been the only one to absorb both the Font of Power and the Pool of Knowledge although that resulted in her becoming that monstrousity. But perhaps there is a way to combine both the Light and Dark side without any major side effects, the result of such a creation would achieve the powers of both my children plus enlightment which would prevent the creation from becoming a corrupt creature. Thus it will be able to end the whole predicament of balancing the Force since it will already be balanced."

The Father quickly went down the cliffside of where he once stood and quickly went into his sancturary to begin his experiments. He used the Force to pull a plethora of ancient scrolls and books from the multitude of shelves that occupied his domain. The books and scrolls hovered around him as he agumented the Force to pull forth a table and a case of glassware in varying sizes. As he made himself comfortable in his study, the Father Force-pulled the closest book to him and opened it to a random page. He glanced at a few pages before pushing the book away for a scroll to appear. He mumbled incoherently as he used the Force Scribe techinque to inscribe words on a piece of parchment that layed in front of him. Once he was satisfied with what he wanted, he pushed the scroll away. Hours upon hours the Father worked endlessly until the wee hours of sunrise.

"I think I may have done it," exasperated the Father standing tiredly from his chair. "Now I have to use a bit of Force alchemy and my own will and blood to make the child doesn't become corrupt."

The Father took a piece of chalk and used the Force to a create a ritual circle on the floor with different symbols and patterns within it. Then the Father used a dagger that he kept hidden in his sleeve and made a slice on his left forearm taking a dap of blood on it. He flicked the blood onto the center of the ritual circle as the blood suddenly stretched itself across the chalk outline; once completed the ritual circle started to rise with smoke that smelled of the mountains.

" _ **Solstitium surgere puer. Miles nocte et die operantes, quos diligimus, et cogitabat tarda praeteritt. Verum statera huiusmodi rebus illis advorsas invenient luci.**_ " chanted the Father. The mixture of the blood and smoke morphed into a faint golden white ball of energy as it hovered calmly up and down. The Father reached out carefully with his hand to touch the orb when it suddenly floated away upwards towards the ceiling. The orb bumped into the ceiling and tried again with the same result; it gave a soft warbling sound in confusion as it desceneded towards ground level. The Father observed the orb with mild amusement as it continuned to inspect the floating scrolls, books, and other utensils nearby.

"The little fellow is inquistive isn't he?" chuckled the Father to himself as the orb made its way back to its creator. It circled around the Father and gently bumped itself into him, the Father laughed softly after feeling the soft warmth graze his cheek before fading away. "It definitely has the compassion and qualities of the Light side, now its time to see how much darkness it has inside of it."

The Father took the dagger still in his hand and threw it towards the golden-white orb but it didn't get pass a few inches when the dagger halted in mid-air. The orb then turned a reddish-bronze color signifying that it wasn't too pleased with the old man's actions.

Father made no move to defend himself as he pondered the latent powers of his newest creation. The orb garbled angrily as the dagger turned around so that the pointed edge was towards the Father.

"Most interesting, it appears that even though with no physical body you managed to be as powerful as I hoped you'd be," stated Father. "I sincerely apologize for my actions, I meant you no harm."

The orb didn't make any noise as its color changed to a blackish-blue color like that of a thunder storm, shooting a powerful blast of electricity at the dagger destroying it completely. Father shielded his face from the blast and once the light died down, he glanced up to see the orb back to its original coloring. The orb turned around and proceeded to levitate away when Father gently grasped the orb into his palm.

The orb growled at first but then it felt the benveloant presence of the Father and gently laid itself against his palm. Father smiled endearingly at his creation as he took the tip of his hand and petted it. The orb purred at the touch and nestled itself deeper into the palm.

"I must say you have turned out as splendid and wonderful as I hoped," complimented Father. "If things go according to my calculations you should be able to be at my strength when you are right of age and shall take over my place for bringing the peace between your siblings. If either of them don't take you for themselves that is, I can't simply let you stay here since I'm sure they've felt your presence at this point and they'll come looking for you. I have to send you off planet-"

"So my dear Father has decided to betray us has he?" A malicious voice made itself present. Father tightened his grip on the orb hiding its presence as he turned around to view his Son and Daughter standing by the doorway. "How do you feel about this dear Sister?"

The Daughter tried to not look hurt but with little suuccess, she cleared her throat before speaking. "Father what is that you have that you are trying to from us?"

Father sighed before releasing the orb from his grip causing the orb to levitate upwards. Once the orb noticed the two beings standing by the doorway it floated closely to Father for protection. The Son chuckled darkly at the golden-whitish orb's reaction to them.

"It seems this little orb of yours is a weak pathetic creation from a deranged old man," the Son insulted. "Tell me, what was the point of this thing?"

"Well my child if you must know, this little orb is supposed to keep the balance between you two. Throughout the milennias I have tried to keep that balance with you but I have failed, hopefully my new creation, my new son, will fix that problem."

The Son snarled at the insult that was directed at him and was about to respond when his sister spoke.

"Father I don't understand, is this suppose to replace us as the balancement of the Force?" asked the Daughter. "Have we become that much of a disgrace that you would rather replace us?"

"No of course not but I can't keep my own children from trying to kill each other. I've been a failure to the both of you and Abeloth, so I figured that the best solution would be to a create a third child that embodies both the Light and Dark side of the Force so that way you two won't have to carry such a burden anymore." Father explained. The Daughter pondered with a thoughtful look on her face towards the orb thinking while the Son had a glare etched on his face.

"I'm sorry Father but this is unacceptable," Daughter said. "Even though you meant well, this orb just means that there is another imbalancement and that we are going to continue fighting each other for the rights to it since my brother will use the orb as a destructive weapon-"

"While my sister will use it for her own self-righteous pretenious reasons," the Son interuppted. "It seems that no matter what you do, you will always hurt us in some way."

"I know and I'm sorry. I'm only doing this because I love you." replied Father with a downtrodden expression when he suddenly fired a blast of silver-blue energy at his own children sending them flying across the landscape and slapped his hands against the orb causing it to break down into golden-white dust. Taking a deep breath he blew the dust away and watched as it disappeared from his sight and the orbit of the planet.

"Go on my chlid. I'm sorry that I couldn't be here to raise you to your full potential but I'll try to be by your side whenever I can," Father said with a heavy sigh. "Goodbye Solstice, my son."

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

 **Illarian**

Trillions upon trillions of miles the golden-whie dust travelled across the far reaches of the cosmos, flying pass asteroids, stars, cosmic gas clouds, and various objects flying through the vast emptiness. Until the cloud of dust came across a planet known as Illarian, home planet to the Yashans. Yashans were considered a race of superhuman warriors whose physiology are quite identical to humans. They were breed to be remarkably agile, five to ten times stronger and thrice as intelligent to humans, their blood contains platelets capable of regenerating an immunity to a wide variety of dieases and toxins, possess heart muscles twice as strong and lung efficiency 175% better which allows them to survive underwater for roughly an hour, and they have the ability to see in complete darkness and have internal thermal vision.

As the dust cloud fell through the upper atmosphere of the planet it came across a large city. It garbled in curiousity flying towards this unknown location and viewed its surrondings; a bustle of unknown species that looked vaguely similar to its creator in terms of physical design, a large amount of flying metal creatures across the sky, and small amounts of food sitting in circular objects. The dust cloud reverted back to its natural orb shape and hovered over the small plate of food trying to eat it but to no avail. The orb grumbled angrily as it tried a few more times before it noticed the sentient beings staring at it with an uncomforting looks on their faces. The orb ignored their expressions as it hovered away towards the upper limits where those mechanical beings were flying past it at incredible speed. It flew alongside one of those metal beings until it accidently bumped into it causing the orb to be knocked down until it gained it bearing. The orb changed to its bronze-red coloring showing that it had just about enough when he spotted from his altitude a woman leaning against a rail on a large building.

Curiousity took over the orb as it descended towards the woman, landing beside her watching her look over the rail. A few moments passed when the woman turned her head to witness the orb staring at her, she quickly pulled a blaster from her side holster and pointed it towards the glowing orb.

"What are-" She started to say only to have the blaster yanked from her person and levitated away. The blaster started to crumple and bend when it dropped to the ground, the woman backing away slowly eyeing for a possible exit.

"What do you want from me?" The woman demanded as the orb floated towards her. It stopped short in front of her face, inspecting her. The female had brown hair with blonde highlights, dark emerald eyes, and wore a white shirt, black vest, blue pants, and boots. The orb changed colors to a soft reddish-pink color as it evaporated to a dust cloud and entered into the woman's womb. The woman stiffened when the cloud entered her and she spasmed for a few moments before she hung over the rail and vomited onto the street below. Suddenly the sick feeling in her stomach vanished, replaced by a warming sensation. The woman held her stomach for a moment before she slowly fell into unconsiousness, seeing images of three people and a giant ship.

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

 **36,443 BBY on Illarian**

A enormous pyramid-like ship towered above the city and blocked out the sun causing panic to ensue across its people. Ten years had pass since that eventful day with the golden-white orb entered her womb and Revanna Solstice stood behind her son Ralem, both staring up into the sky. Revanna never fully understood what those images meant all those years ago nor did she really question them but a thought did pop up every now and then, she never considered herself a philosophical person but she had a feeling that her son was meant for something grand. She looked down to see her son staring in amazement at the pyramid ship above. She ruffled his blondish-brown hair and stared at the mark on his arm; a tribal sun with a crescant moon on his right arm. What was fascinating was that Ralem was born with mark, never faded or anything.

"Mommy, what is that ship doing here?" asked Ralem backing slowly towards his mother. Revanna smiled comfotingly laying her hand against his shoulder and giving it a tight squeeze.

"It's here for you baby." said Revanna. Ralem turned to face his mother with a small amount of fear on his face.

"Why?"

Revanna sighed in fatigue. She honestly couldn't give a solid answer, hell she couldn't even convince herself entirely about what happened a decade ago, but she had a feeling that wouldn't matter. Like everything would resolve itself.

"I'm not sure baby but there comes a time in someone's life where they belong to someting or someone and sometimes you don't question it and just do it. Understand?" Revanna tried to explain to her son. Ralem nodded slowly, not fully understanding but something inside told him to follow that ship.

A loud whiring sound boomed from the ship as it opened and a blinding white light shone through onto Ralem and his mother. Ralem felt himself being lifted off the ground and floating towards the white light emitting from the ship. Looking back he noticed that his mother was still on the ground and not joining him, upon this realization he flared his arms and legs trying to return to his mom.

"Mom! Put me down now!"

"It's ok sweetie, just go. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine!" Revanna shouted as she wiped her tears from her eyes. She continued to watch until her child disappeared from her sight, her fist trembling with a wave of emotions pulsating through her but kept her composure. She was a Yashan assassin and mercenary, she shared some of those same qualities to her son: honor and respect for those fallen in battle even for the enemy, never fight dirty unless the enemy starts it first, and forbid the telling of contracts/kills. Granted Ralem wasn't old enough to kill but it was her duty to tell him nonetheless.

Even though her job prevented her from expressing her feelings, some of those disappeared when Ralem was born. Actually she had twins but her youngest son died within 5 minutes of birth; Revanna remembered that moment all too well. She had planned on calling him Kyo after her grandfather, a famous Yashan bounty hunter. But when the news about her youngest son was given she was devastated, she demanded to hold her sons. She cradled both her children until the nurse came in and tried to remove them from her, try being the keyword.

Revanna shook her head from that harrowing memory. She promised herself that she would protect her only son even if it meant sacrificing her own happiness.

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

 **Inside the ship**

Ralem surveyed the enviroment around him; white pristine walls surronded his view with a multitude of different colored buttons on them and the coal black floor that was waxed so throuoghly that he could see his reflection. He took small steps forward, not quite sure of what he should do. Looking behind him, he saw there was a long hallway; same with in front of him. Ralem sat down and curled into a small ball as tears fell down his face wishin that his mom could be here to be with him. He didn't want to be on this ship with no one here.

He continued to cry until a soft humming brought him out of his stupor. He glanced to view a bluish-purple naked human female with electrical currents running up and down her body along with dark opaque hair. She smiled gently to the scared Yashan child causing Ralem to visibly relax in comfort. Wiping the tears from his eyes, he stood up and inspected this new being in front of him.

"You must be Ralem Kyo Solstice," replied the bluish-purple hologram. "You're a bit younger than I imagine. Where are my manners? My name is Cortana, I'm this ships A.I and your new guardian."

"I don't want a new guardian I want my mom!" Ralem shouted. He turned around to start running but quickly realzied that he was once again floating above the floor. "Put me down now!"

"Will you try to run away again?" Cortana asked. "If you say yes then you won't be going anywhere and I'll know if you're lying."

Ralem grumbled under his breath and looked away from the holographic A.I. "Fine."

Cortana put the child down on his feet. "Good now that you have agreed we can get right onto business, this ship will bring you to Tython where you will lead other Force users to enlightenment-"

"Wait what?" interrupted Ralem. "What are you talking about? What is the Force?"

"Didn't you know? You are suppose to lead a group of special individuals that have a unique connection to the Force, a metephysical, spiritual, binding, omnipotent, and ubiquitous power that all origanic lifeforms seem to have an affliation to. Or so I have gathered from my creator."

"So why me specifically?" inquired Ralem, his curiousity beginning to gnaw at him. "Am I the first Force user or something?"

"Actually according to my files and creator, you were specifically designed for that purpose and another directive that I'm not allowed to tell you." stated Cortana. "And it's my duty to watch over you and see that you advance in your studies."

Ralem slowly absorbed this new information given to him by Cortana but something lingered in his mind. "So if what you're saying is true then how can I be the first Force user if I'm not the first being in existence? Doesn't that contradict what you said? And what do you mean by 'specifically designed'?"

"Not quite. While it's true that the Force resides in all lifeforms, you are the first mortal lifeform with access to the Force which given your ancestral background makes logical sense that you would be the first." Cortanan explained. "And the second part I'm not allowed to say until you reach a ceratin age as to not overwhelm you."

Ralem rubbed his temple as his head started to slightly hurt from the barrage of new information. "So how do I access the Force?"

"We'll work on that once we arrive to our destination on Tython and when the other ships arrive there with its passengers." said Cortana.

"How many ships are there? And what kind of ship is this?" Ralem asked.

"This ship are known amongst 7 others as Tho Yor and these ships will pilgrims to Tython so that you will learn how to harness the Force and bring balance to it." Cortana explained. "Now if you will follow me I will lead to your sleeping quarters to let you rest until we arrive at our destination."

Ralem nodded and followed the A.I until they arrived at the door to the room. Ralem walked in and noted the sparsely filled room, granted it was a little less barren than his old room but it reminded him of home. And his mother.

The Yashan walked over to the bed and lied down staring at the ceiling. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep but the image of his mother disrupted his sleep. He rolled onto his side then rolled over again to no avail and comfort. He eventually sat and placed his head into hands sighing agitably, his nerves making him unable to rest. And considering everything he went through today it would make sense.

'Why do I have to do any of this? I'm only 10 years old,' thought Ralem. 'And I don't know anything about this Force thing or how to lead these people. Not to mention I don't think they will follow someone as young as me who also doesn't know what he's talking about. I wish you were here with me Mom.'

The young Yashan sighed before the drowsiness started to overtake before falling completely asleep, his back falling onto the matress with the last image in his head was him and his mother out on the countryside and she was teaching him how to use one of her blasters and them taking a break to have lunch.

He smiled softly not noticing a certain A.I. standing in the doorway as she watched the young Yashan sleep with a peaceful look on his face, the first time he looked calm since he came aboard. She smiled before turning off the light and returning to the ship's bridge to analyze how much further their destination is.

 **A/N: So that's it for the first chapter, may not be a strong start but once Ralem and Cortana arrive on Tyhon that's where the real action starts. There they will discover the vass abilities of the Force and the combat styles for Lightsabers, both Light and Dark. And considering at this point in time this is where everything starts in the Star Wars universe including the Jedi and Sith**.

 **I will borrow elements from the 2003-2005 Clone Wars series (mainly for the superhuman Jedi abilities and powers), 2008 Clone Wars series, Naruto, Assassin's Creed, and possibly God of War.**

 **As I mentioned the Jedi and Sith will have more superpowered abilities and powers, kind of like how some Naruto characters are (which is funny since the Shinobi are similar to the Jedi and Sith in some regards) in terms of power. Should be fun to write since in a weird way Ralem will be similar to Hashirama (God of Shinobi- God of Je'daii).**

 **Something interesting to note is that both Ralem's and Anakin's birth are nearly identical except that Ralem was created from a pure being (Father) while Anakin was created from Plagius and Sidious, two Sith Lords. Which in perspective would make sense of why Anakin became so dark and full of anger.**

 **The next few chapters will follow Ralem discovering virtually everything there is to know about the Force plus given his origin, it makes sense.**

Translation for the Father's incantation: _**Rise child of the Solstice. Warrior of the night and day, reunite those we love and those thought long gone. True balance shall arise when those gone awry shall find their inner light.**_


	2. Balance on Tython

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything pertaining to the Star Wars franchise, all rights are acquired to Disney. The only things I own are my OC's Ralem Solstice.**

 **"Speaking"**

 **'Thoughts'**

 _ **'Telepathic'**_

 **Ralem's Collective:**

Ashoka Tano

Asajj Ventress

Padme Amidala

Riyo Chuchi

Daughter

Sabren Wren

Bastila Shan

Satele Shan

Shae Vizla

Zule Xiss

T'ra Saa

Kass Tod

Shaak Ti

Aayla Secura

Luminara

Barriss Offee

Tiplee

Tiplar

Bo-Katan Kryze

Duchess Satine

Mara Jade

Miraj Scintel

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

A sudden loud banging noise awoke the 10 year old Yashan from his slumber, causing Ralem to jump from the bed on full alert. Ralem quickly surveyed his room to see if there any intruders but realized that only he and Cortana were on the ship. The ship that would take him to Tython and where he was suposed to learn about the 'Force'. The Yashan rubbed his face in tiredness and streched his limbs before jumping off the bed.

"I might as well walk around and see how things are," mumbled Ralem, straightening his crumbled looking clothes. "Might help me figured what's going on." Ralem walked through the sliding door and glanced at the white hallway that laid before him. He inspected both halls before walking down the left wing, slowly looking at the multiple doors that stood present before him.

He walked backwards briefly admiring the architecture before he saw another hallway, but this was shorther than the others plus it had a view of the stars and various other planets. Being the inqusitive Yashan that he was, Ralem made his way down the hallway until he entered the room, viewing the multiple panels and controls that covered the room plus the giant window that made the majority of the room.

"This must be the Control room," muttered Ralem as he glanced behind him in case Cortana was coming. When he didn't see her, he continued down the room inspecting all the panels. He finally made his way to the front of the Control center to the giant stainless glass window to view the cosmos in all of her glory. Ralem's eyes widened as he observed the beauty that was space; the multiple colored nebulas sprayed across the black canvas of space, in the far distance there was a blackhole, the various sizes of planets, and the billions if not trillions of stars that lit up the cosmos filled and overwhelmed his senses. Ralem never seen such a sight even when he and his mother went to the countryside to watch the falling stars graze across the night sky.

"It is marvelous isn't it?" Cortana asked as she materialized in her 3D holographic form next to the Yashan. Ralem jumped at her presence but quickly relaxed once he realized at who it was, giving her a small smile.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack," joked Ralem chuckling softly. "Next time you do that I'm going to place a bell on you."

Cortana laughed in kind. "Well it seems that you're in a better mood than yesterday."

Ralem nervously rubbed the back of his neck, looking up towards her. "I'm sorry for how I reacted, I was scared and didn't know what was going..." He quickly rubbed his eyes which were starting to get misty and he reverted his attention back to the window. Cortana stared at the saddened Yashan's reflection before placing a comforting hand that phazed through his shoulder but the Yashan noticed her attempt.

"It's alright Ralem I understand. Being torn away from your mother wouldn't be the easiest situation for someone of your age to handle, but at least you have me to talk to," comforted Cortana. "Is there anything you to ask me?"

Ralem peered into the window examining the cosmos for a brief moment before turning towards Cortana. "You mentioned that you would help me understand the aspects of the 'Force' correct? If that's so then tell me, why are we going to Tython exactly? What's so special about it?"

"According to my records Tython is a planet without sentient life so that you and your followers can explore the Force in relative peace." explained Cortana. Ralem nodded in understanding but squinted his eyes at another question.

"You mentioned that I was 'specifically designed for this purpose', based on that it sounds as though I was created in a similar fashion to you," peered Ralem as he gazed into the artifical A.I's eyes. "If that's true then would I be right in guessing that the same person who 'created' me correct?" The Yashan noticed that the female A.I seemed reluctant on answering his question but he pressed forward. "You also mentioned that I was the first mortal lifeform that possessed the Force and that 'given my ancestral background that it would make sense'. So who exactly was the person responsible for creating us?"

"I am sorry but I am not authorized to tell you." Cortana explained. Ralem exhaled loudly as he shoved his hands roughly against the glass causing a few cracks and a loud banging sound to echo across the otherwise barren room. The aggravated Yashan sighed as he pushed himself off the glass and ran his hands through his spiky hair then turning to face the femle A.I.; she quickly noticed that his bright yellow-white eyes somehow changed to a dark yellow-bronze color before they changed to their natural coloring.

"Sorry," apologized Ralem. Suddenly a low rumbling sound was bellowing from Ralem's stomach, the Yashan chuckled nervously from the situation. "It seems I haven't eaten anything since I got here, by the way how Iong have I been asleep?"

"From our departure time, I would say roughly 10 hours, 16 minutes, and 48 seconds." Coratana quickly responded. "If you would like to eat I can prepare something for you in the dining hall, just follow the orange light on the floor." As soon as she finished, a bright neon orange light shone onto the floor that traveled across the room until it disappeared from sight. "Will there be anything else I can interest you with?"

"Just one: when exactly will we land on Tyhton?" asked Ralem. Cortana turned around hovering her hand and mulitple holographic panels sprang to life, configured some of the panels and typed a few lines of coding. "We'll be landing within 3 hours." Ralem gulped as his hands started to become clamy and felt his heartbeat start to race but he took a deep breath as he remembered that the planet was safe.

"I'll be on my way now. Just let me know when we are close to Tython." ordered Ralem.

"But we are close to Tython, we are within 3 hours of landing." replied Cortana.

"I meant when the planet is within eye distance, then contact me. Trust me a 10 year old kid who has 3 hours to spare, you're just asking for trouble." Ralem smiled mischeivously walking away from the Control center as Cortana rolled her eyes.

"Ok Mr. Trouble, I'll be extra sure to keep an eye on you so you won't hurt yourself." teased Cortana. Ralem waved behind his head before he turned the corner and disappeared from her 3D holographic perception. Cortana shook her head and smiled before directing her attention back to the monitors, specifically the one with Ralem walking down the corridor and she paused the footage of him walking pass one of the cameras looking upwards towards it. She studied his face, more so his eyes, before she pulled a 3D hologram of Ralem just a few moments ago when his eyes darken to that yellow-bronze color.

"What does this mean?"

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

 **Tython**

The Tho Yor hovered over the thermosphere of the planet below, it's two residents gazed down at its captivating presence. The lush green fields of the continents shown their majestic deamnor while the clouds were swirling in a clockwise manner making the planet a serene jewel.

"Wow! That's a beautiful looking planet, so that's Tython huh?" asked Ralem as he pressed his face against the glass. "This might not be so bad after all, prepare the ship for landing."

"Already putting in landing coordinates and commencing landing procedures now." Cortana said typing onto the panels in front of her. The engines roared to life as the ship started to descend into the atmosphere, the ship started to shake from the intense force of the entry into the stratosphere. The clouds disapated to show a lushious jungle and swamp below; not too far in the distance was an enormous mountain and the top was showered with cream-like snow decorating the top. The Tho Yor graced the skies with majestic finess and swallowed the jungle below with its massive structure before landing daintly on the mountain side.

As the landing dock opened the Yashan walked down the ramp and stepped on top of the crunchy white snow, the snow itself sticking to his shoes. Ralem shivered unvoluntarily as he hugged himself to keep himself, his thin long sleeve shirt not providing much comfort.

"God it's so cold here," whined Ralem suddenly sneezing and wiping his nose on the sleeve. "And it's a steep drop too but there's got to be a way to get to down there. Cortana won't move the ship because it could destroy potential food sources."

A particulary strong gale brushed against Ralem causing him to lose his footing and fall flat on his face. His face stung from the artic chill on his cheeks and quickly picked himself up, luckily finding a boulder big enough to shelter him from the rising winds. The Yashan drudged through the damp snow till he hid himself behind it, he felt his forhead starting to build up sweat and his body for some reason started to heat up. Ralem suddenly grasped his head in excruciating pain and felt an overwhelming sensation grab ahold of his body as he started to crawl away from the boulder, slowly stood up before he thrusted his hand outward and a powerful blast erupted from his hand destroying the large boulder in one blow. The Yashan growled as he rolled up his sleeves to witness red, blue, and purple veins bulging from his skin but what shocked the Yashan was the dark claws forming where his nails used to be. His muscles started to bulge and grow but white fur started to take over his skin, his teeth started to form into fangs. He took a few steps then he fell to his knees, veins continuing to bulge against his face as his voice started to become more animalistic and sweat started to pour down his face, his body in immense pain although he felt a very powerful surge of power flow through him.

A white enveloped him as the transformation was almost completed, a ferocious roar resonated across the mountain side; an enormous white tiger with black stipes stood proudly where the Yashan once was, the tiger shaking its body then walking over to the edge of the mountain and peered down, at least a 10,000 foot drop straight down. With no real concern the tiger jumped down the cliff and began to slide down the snow before the resounding roar from eariler triggered an avalanche and started to skid down the mountain; upon hearing the thundering of the snow the tiger quicken his pace as he started to run down the face of the mountain, rushing towards the bottom with a resounding slam.

The tiger quickly manifested back into Ralem, quickly falling onto his back taking deep exaggerating breaths, his body convulsing before he rolled onto his stomach and crawled a feet then managing to shakily get back on his feet.

"What the hell was that?" moaned Ralem placing his hand behind his back. "My back is killing me and so is my head, this place is going to kill me before nightfall. Why would anyone want to learn the Force if it causes this much pain? I wonder if this has anything to do with my creator?"

The sky began to darken and rain drizzled upon Ralem, causing the Yashan to sigh in annoyance. "That's great and it's raining as well, could this get any worse?"

" _ **Relax and calm yourself, you will not achieve balance if you are angered. Think of soothing thoughts and the enviroment shall be restored to its normal place, that is the key to survival on this planet: Balance.**_ " A omnious voice spoke in Ralem's head casuing confusion to spur inside him. Upon not seeing anyone or anything, he shook his head trying to ignore his thoughts. But as Ralem stared into the storming sky he figured that it would be best to listen to the voice. So Ralem closed his eyes and focused on the memories that brought him joy: his mother teaching him combat lessons including on how to fire a blaster, star gazing on the countryside, Yashan code of honor. It brought a smile to his face and his closed eyes felt the brightness of the sun prying into them, upon opening he noticed that the storm clouds had disappeared and it was sunny again.

"Ok that's pretty cool I got to admit." smiled Ralem. "I wonder what else I can do."

Ralem's body started to heal quickly so he quickly jumped to his feet and ran towards the jungle in front of him. The temperature instantly grew humid so the Yashan ripped the sleeves off and continued to run across the jungle. Many beautiful flowers spread themselves across the trees and Ralem observed that his pace had begun to increase, eventually he was running so fast that his vision started to blur everything around him. Suddenly Ralem jumped into the air which launched him 50 feet upwards when he landed onto an unusally large branch, the size of it could fit 5 people comfortably. Ralem balanced himself before looking down to see how high he had gotten, he laughed to himself in shock then looking down to himself.

"This is awesome! I can run really fast and I can jump at a crazy height as well." exclaimed Ralem. "Plus I destoyed that boulder before-" He placed his hand beside his temple, his head started to throb as blurry images and sounds rang throughout. "I think I somehow transformed into a creature of some sort. I didn't think our species could transform unless...I'm not going to think about it anymore, I'm not going to get any answers until I'm older. Besides the sun's about to set so I need to set up camp, I'll stay up here since it's a long way down."

Ralem laid against tree in an upright position surveying his surrondings, once he felt comfortable he let sleep overcome him.

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

A monstorus roar resounded across the landscape as a black mountain-sized dragon laid waste to the jungle, effectly destroying it entirely with one swoop of its tail. It towered above everything with its shimmering back scales enlightened by the planet's two moons, a white and black moon. The dragon stomped across the countryside, each footstep casuing the very ground to quake and uproot trees. Its chest burned in a amber color when fire erupted from the mouth and seared the landscape setting it ablaze against the oynx sky.

The dragon reeled onto its hind legs and screeched when it started to shrink to reveal Ralem in full nudity. Ralem gasped and panted laying his head across the ground, the pain still pulsating through his skull. But the pain was easily 10x worse than the previous and tears cascaded down the traumatized Yashan's face.

"I can't do this anymore," cried Ralem cradling into a ball and rocking himself back and forh. "This is too much pain, too much pressure, too much everything. I want to go home." Tears poured harder down and he shooked even harder until he felt a comforting presence surround him.

" _Ralem, I know this must be hard for you but you must continue. There are a lot of things that we don't want to do but sometimes it's neccessary._ " Spoke a female voice with a soothing tone it. Ralem was brought out of his stupor and saw his mother standing before him.

"Mom?" questioned the confused Yashan. "How-"

" _It doesn't matter now does it sweetie?_ " Revanna answered. " _What matters is that we are together again and we'll get through this together. How have you been fairing? And where are your clothes?_ "

"I've-I've..." Ralem couldn't finish his sentence as he continued sobbing, he ran towards his mother and wrapped his arms around her waist planting his face into her stomach. Revanna wrapped her arms around her son and planted a small kiss on his head, gently massaging the scalp.

"I've missed you so much." sobbed Ralem tightening his grip. "Please don't leave me again."

" _And why would I stay with such a weak pathetic son like you?_ " Revanna's tone suddenly darkened maliciously. " _You have disgraced me and our family with your emotional weakness, Yashan's are a strong race but you have not reached that criteria. Leave me you bastard child!_ " Revanna then punched her child square against his jaw knocking him off his feet and into the mud.

Ralem gently touched his cheek but retracted his hand once the stinging sensation overwhelmed. He stared at his hand for a moment then he balled it into a fist in rage. Ralem snarled as he picked himself off the ground and sent a scowled towards his mother, wiping the mud and blood from his face. His eyes lowered to yellow-bronze color. Instinctively he placed his hand outward and hurled arcing bolts of blue electricity from his fingertips launching his mother backwads onto the floor. Revanna's screams filled Ralem's ears, smiling dementingly at the torture of the women who gave him life. However Ralem immediately halted his torutous actions as guilt plauged his soul seeing the result of his actions; his mother burnt to a crisp with pieces of flesh melting right off the bone. But what unsettled him the most was the sick twisted grin that remained charred on Revanna's face.

Ralem emptied everything he had in his stomach before he fled the horrifying sight, but didn't noticed that Revanna's body suddenly stood up and her wounds instantly healed. She smirked deviously at the retreating figure.

" _That was easier than I expected._ " Revanna stated. " _We'll see who'se the better Son now, Father._ "

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

Ralem crash landed outside the Tho Yor and slammed his fists against the force shield protecting the entrance.

"CORTANA! OPEN THE SHIP NOW!" yelled Ralem throwing a combination of punches and kicks against the shield to no effect. Cortana manifested on the other side of shield looking sympatheticly towards the distressed Ralem.

"I'm sorry but I can not allow that. You are in a state of psychotic rage and would prove a danger to me and every operation system on aboard this ship," said Cortana.

" **RAGE?! RAGE?! I WILL SHOW YOU RAGE!** " roared Ralem and was about to leave when a hologram appeared in front of him. It showed a dragon annhilating the entire jungle area in one frail swoop and set an entire field on fire. Cortana witnessed the slow realization upon Ralem's face all the destruction that he had caused. Ralem fell to his knees with an expressionless mask plastered on, a sense of dread overcoming his senses.

"Is this how it ends for me?" Ralem asked after moments of tense silence. "Was everything I was told just some twisted joke and I'm just a weak, pathetic excuse of-"

"I don't know all the answers but what I do know is that you're destined for something no one can comprehand. But it's up to you if you want to see it to the end, you are your worst enemy," Cortana explicated. "For now you need rest and seeing as you have calmed down to an appropriate levels, I shall allow you access inside, you suffered enough as it is."

"Thank you." Ralem quitely said with his eyes downcast. The shields powered down and Ralem slowly walked aboard the ship and quickly made his way to the chambers that he slept in the first time. Once he got inside his room, he punched a hole into the wall followed by several more holes. After he was done Ralem sat on the edge of the bed and pondered on the last 16 hours after arriving on Tython.

He stared at the wall with an intense expression on his face before laying down on the bed and tried to make himself sleep.

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

 **2 months later**

Ralem dove off the branch of a 175 foot tree and swung from a vine then jumped to another vine before landing on another thick tree branch. He wiped the sweat off his brow and glanced at his wrist communicator to see the timer; 15 seconds.

" _What's the time you achieved?_ " asked Cortana as she was displayed in a small holographic screen from the communicator.

"15 seconds and if I'm correct that's 10 seconds sooner than the last time," said Ralem. "It seems like I'm getting stronger as the days go by."

" _I would concur, plus it seems that your specie's biology is playing a large part in your training. Yashan's are an incredibly agile and strong people... You have an incoming bogey at 6'0 clock._ "

Ralem turned his head to see an orange and blue Momong leap from the top branches and land beside the Yashan, reaching around a foot or his shins, and purred against his leg. Ralem lent his arm downward so that the Momong could climb and itself against his shoulder.

"Don't worry Cortana, it's just Trejos. Not really a threat but I appreciate the concern." said Ralem. Trejos gave a growl of disapproval until Ralem squinted his eyes. "C'mon we both know that you ran after messing around with the Tythonian raptors, especially with you stealing their food and who was the one who saved you?" Trejos' ears lowered in shame before Ralem scratched the underside of his chin. "Cheer up I got you a little snack."

Ralem reached into his pack strapped to his back and pulled a medium sized rodent, giving to Trejos who quickly devoured it giving a content 'murring' sound then lazily laid on top of his pack.

" _Ralem I need you back to the ship, I have some news that you need to see._ " Cortana explained in haste. Ralem nodded before turning the wrist communicator off, he strapped the pack tighter than usual before tapping Trejos twice on the head.

"Yo Trejos I need you awake for a moment, I'm going to leave so if you want to tag along either you have to be awake or you sleep in the bag, there should be enough room for you." said Ralem. Trejos nodded before digging his way into the bag and sticking his head out. Ralem rubbed his face before taking a few steps back and did a running leap back to the same vine he swung off earlier and grabbed it. Upon the upward momentum he jumped off, launching him high above the trees but high enough to see the Tho Yor within a few cliques. Ralem braced for his impact with the incoming branch below when a Tythonian raptor blindsided him and knock him away from the branch. The raptor tried to plunge its maw at Ralem's face but the Yashan snapped his head back and grabbed the raptor by the upper and lower portion of its jaw. He struggled against it as the raptor then tried slashing its claws at him, and succeeded in scratching him at different points on his arms and shirt. Gaining enough distance Ralem then proceeded to kick the raptor off as it continued its descent 80 feet below effectively killing it with a resounding thud.

Ralem reached out and barely managed to snag a vine by the tips of his fingers. Ralem grunted as he reached upward with his other hand as to not lose his balance and grabbed a comfortable part of the vine, pulling himself up to better position. Ralem then inspected his wounds in mid-swing; two slashes on his right arm and a giant slash on his grey shirt.

"Why would the raptors start hunting up here?" inquired Ralem as he inspected the side of a nearby tree once he landed. "We're at least a hundred feet above ground and they've always hunted animals on ground level. Then again there hasn't been any game here in some time so they probably grasped at the first sign of food." Ralem inspected the other side of the tree. "Strange, they usually hunt in packs. But then again one did blindside me so they're probably hiding in the trees somewhere. This isn't good, I have to make a gamplan in case I might jumped again."

Ralem jumped 30 feet upwards to the top branch and balanced himself as he survyed the area around him. "Hmmm seems pretty clear to me, I just have to stay above the treelines so I won't ambushed. Should take me about 3 minutes to get to her." Ralem stood straight up balancing on the tip of the branch with one foot and then taking a giant leap to the next several branches before he put all the Force power he had in his legs to make a quarter mile jump to the ship causing an indention in the snow upon his landing.

Running inside Ralem quickly made his way to the Control Center where Cortana stood before him.

"Cortana I'm here, what's going on?" Ralem asked.

"I've been scanning the outer reaches of the solar system to track down other ships in case they were to land on Tython," Cortana stated then pulling a large holographic map of the system. "And today I spotted several ships and based on their trajectory and speed, I believe their destination is Tython."

"And how long until these ships arrive on Tython?" pondered Ralem.

"6 months. Plenty of time for you to update the journals we've been keeping about the Force and the abilities you've unlocked." Cortana said shooing the Yashan towards a desk panel. "Now it get to work."

"Alright, alright I'm going. You can't rush perfection." teased Ralem taking a seat at the desk and logging into the ship's database files. Ralem typed in keywords for the computer to find the documents he was looking for and clicked on them, bring the document to full screen.

 _ **Research Journal for the Force and Survival Notes for Tython**_

 **Force powers-**

 **Force Speed: A Force power that allows the user to maintain sprinting speeds for a period of time. Greater aptitude granted greater boosts to speed and/or greater duration. The increased speed of the Force-user enabled the individual to view the world and the entities around them in slow motion, allowing them to dodge attacks easily and attack quicker with greater accuracy.**

 **Force Body: A Force power that allows any Force-user to push their body's endurances past a safe limit, ignoring and possibly sacrificing their health and well-being, in order to sustain their connection to the Force.**

 **Detoxify Poison: Allows the user to detoxify poisons or eject them from their body in a much shorter amount of time than would normally be possible.**

 **Force Healing: Allows the user to acclerate the natural healing process rapidly.**

 **Alter Enviroment: Allows the user to manipulate nature, enabling the creation of phenomena such as whirlwinds or fog that could be used to attack or shield the user from opponents. It can be used to maninpulate temperatures, creating sub-zero temperatures in seconds, or blistering heat that could burn. With this ability, a user could generate electrical discharges over broad expanses of ground, vacate areas of air, or increase the pressure of the air to burst eardrums.**

 **Animal Friendship: Allows the user to control an animal. Once calmed, the animal could be used by the Force user in various ways, including as a mount or guard beast.**

 **Force Bellow: Allows the user to amplify their voice using the Force causing massive shockwaves.**

 **Force Blinding: Upon use of this technqiue, a blinding flash of energy emanated from a user's hand, manifesting as a flash of light that overloaded a target's vision, causing temporary blindness.**

 **Force Cloak: Involves the manipulation of light and sound waves to render a practitioner virtually invisible to the naked eye.**

 **Force Jump: Uses the Force to augment the user's natural leaping ability.**

 **Force Lighting: Purely offensive, energy-based attack that channels the Force down the user's limbs, hurling arcing bolts of electricity from the weilder's fingertips or palms.**

 _Note: Extremely dangerous technique since the user must be in a state of rage in order for the technqiue to work. There may be a possiblity of using the technqiue in a much calmer state._

 **Force Pull/Push: Force-users can use this ability to push, pull, and light objects, as well as to stop or redirect projectiles.**

 _ **Tython is beautiful and powerful, enigmatic and dangerous, filled with mysteries and open to those comfortable with the Force. It was here long, long before me, and these mysteries persisted with no eyes to see them, no minds to contemplate them. And this is why I fear Tython. It means everything to me, and yet I am nothing to it. I am merely passing through.**_

 _ **\- Ralem Kyo Solstice year 36,443**_

 **A verdant world that is incredibly reach in the Force, a metaphysical, spiritual, binding, omnipotent, and ubiquitous power that all lifeforms have. It surronds us, binds us; to the trees, air, birds, rocks, every and all things.**

 **I am in the early stages on building a philosophy of balance upon Tython's two moons, which I am naming, Ashla and Bogan. Balance is the quintensial aspect of survival on this planet since any sort of imbalance will cause massive storms and groundquakes, I would consider constant meditation and the training of one's emotions.**

Ralem stopped typing as he stood from his seat and saved his work, turning the screen off. He scratched Trejos' head who had left the pack and rested himself on the Yashan's shoulders.

"I did all the work I needed to," Ralem called out. "How's it going on your end?"

"Going slow I'm afraid," sighed Cortana leaving Ralem cocking his head slightly. "It's just that there's not much for me to do on the ship and I can't leave since I have no physical body to move around and you're always outside while I'm stuck here."

"Well why don't you just yourself an artificial body then? It shouldn't be too hard for someone like yourself." suggested Ralem. Cortanan gazed thoughtfully at the aspect of creating her own body but there were so many variables to consider: how would she go about it? The enviroment of Tython could be very inhospitable in certain areas so she would need a durable exoskeleton but there were many lush areas that could prove a hinderance to her design so she would need a durable exoskeleton that was agile. But she had limited resources to work with.

"If you want I can give you a helping hand, I don't know much about android bodies and systems but I'll do what I can." offered Ralem. Cortana smiled kindly at the offer and was touched by it.

"Thank you but if we're going to do this then I'll need time to build schematics since we'll only have limited time to get this right since we have limited resources." Cortana explained.

"Alright seems fair, if you need me I'll be in bed. I been in the jungle almost all day." said Ralem as he started walking away from the Center.

"Sleep tight." replied Cortana busy with her schematic drawings.

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

 **6 months later**

Multiple thunderous booms echoed across the landscape as multiple pyramid ships descended across the sky blocking the very sun itself. Ralem stood outside the ship in the snow with his arms folded across his chest taking in the sight with Trejos planted firmly on his shoulder.

"Looks like it's showtime Trejos." commented Ralem with Trejos squeaked in agreement.

 **A/N: That's it for the second and I hoped you guys enjoyed it. In case you're wondering Ralem has two shapeshifting forms; a dragon and a white tiger. I borrowed this aspect from the Japanese mythology that the tiger and dragon bring balance to the universe, and given Ralem's purpose by the Father, this seems most appropriate. The dragon is based on Ancalagon the Black from the Lord of the Rings and the white tiger is based on the Japanese white tiger Byakko. Compared to the Son's Gargoyle form and the Daughter's Griffith form, it's rather impressive for Ralem. Although I should state the white tiger is as large as the Son's and Daughter's forms but the dragon is the size of a mountain.**

 **As for how powerful Ralem should be and given my statement of the Jedi and Sith being more superhuman in their abilities, I talked with my good friend Zer0the0mega108 and we argeed that given that the Son and Daughter are going to be placed at planet level capablility and the Father will be Star level capability that Ralem Solstice will be as powerful as Grand Master Luke Skywalker from the EU roughly by the he's 17 and thrown into the Clone Wars saga.**

 **Strength levels:**

 **Father- Sun level**

 **Grand Master Luke/Ralem Kyo Solstice- Planet+ level**

 **Son/Daughter- Planet level**

 **Darth Sidious- Moon level**

 **Yoda/Darth Bane/Darth Nihilus/Revan/Darth Plageuis- Multi-Continent+ level**

 **Mace Windu- Continent level**

 **Obi-Wan Kenobi/Count Dooku/Darth Maul- Island level (Count Dooku noted being Island level+)**

 **Anakin Skywalker- At least Small Island level/potentially country level+**

 **Ashoka Tano- City Block level+**

 **Given how powerful Ralem will be, I have been debating on whether or not there will even be a Clone Wars since Ralem is very much capable of hunting down General Grevious and practically ending the war, as the Jedi Council has stated many times in the series. So the question is: would you like to see the Clone Wars or see something more original?**

 **Cause Zer0the0mega108 and I have talked about story ideas and we came up with cool story ideas to use, one of which is using the Sith Lords from the past rising agains and fighting against the Jedi (and Je'daii in Ralem's case), very similar to the Assassins and Templars from Assassin's Creed. I might bring in Starkiller from TFU 1 and 2 to shake things up a bit.**


	3. Rise of the Je'daii Order

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything pertaining to the Star Wars franchise, all rights are acquired to Disney. The only things I own are my OC's Ralem Solstice.**

 **"Speaking"**

 **'Thoughts'**

 _ **'Telepathic'**_

 **Ralem's Collective:**

Ahsoka Tano

Asajj Ventress

Padme Amidala

Riyo Chuchi

Sabren Wren

Bastila Shan

Satele Shan

Shae Vizla

Zule Xiss

T'ra Saa

Kass Tod

Shaak Ti

Aayla Secura

Luminara

Barriss Offee

Tiplee

Tiplar

Bo-Katan Kryze

Duchess Satine

Mara Jade

Miraj Scintel

Darth Talon

Sylvar

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

Ralem stared at the 8 other Tho Yor ships that hovered above his home, taking a deep breath before tapping on his wrist communicator.

"Cortana are you able to make contact with the other ships?" asked Ralem. Trejos crawled on top of the Yashan's head and peered up into the sky to study this mysterious objects that blocked out the sun.

" _Yes I can relay a message simultaneously to all the ships and even transport the leaders of each ship to your location, shall I commence with that course of action?_ " replied Cortana via hologram screen. The Yashan took a pause to consider his best course of action, taking a few minutes before making a decision.

"Alright warp the leaders of each temple to me," ordered Ralem. As soon as he finished his statement, several beams of light appeared before Ralem followed by physical bodies from different species; a Twi'lek female, two Human adult males, a Cathar male, a dark-skinned Humanoid male but he wore goggles over his eyes, a Twi'lek male, a Human teenage female, a male Rakatan, and a mysterious figure who wore a hood over his face and staff.

Ralem counted 10 people in total but figured that the two Human adults came from the same ship. He rubbed his chin as he considered what he was going to say but decided to wing it.

"Welcome to Tython my fellow Force users," started Ralem. "I apologize about the cold weather but my ship landed on the side of a mountain so I couldn't do anything about it." He chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his head which garnered a few laughs from some of the other leaders. "Sorry I'm a little nervous and I figure you might be a bit disappointed with the outcome since you've been on those ships for at least 6 months, just to take orders from a ten year old. I almost forgot to introduce myself, my name is Ralem Solstice and might I ask your names?"

The female Twi'lek stepped forward. "My name is Kora and I hail from the planet Shikaakwa, and it is a pleasure to meet someone of your caliber. My crew and I have pondered on the aspects of this 'Force' for a while now and we can't wait to see what is in store."

Ralem nodded in respect feeling good energy radiating from her as the two Human males stepped forward. "Greetings my name is Ketu and this Daegen Lok, my second-in-command." The man named Ketu tightened his coat around himself staring off into the distance at the jungle, what was left of it. "What exactly caused all this destruction?"

"That would be me," explained Ralem causing the other Tho Yor leaders to stare at the Yashan child in shock. "Long story short I was somehow able to transform into a giant glowing white tiger and a dragon that was the size of a mountain but for some reason I couldn't remember transforming into them. The only reason I was able to discover this was because of Cortana recording the entire incident. Cortana please relay the footage of my transformations."

Ralem's wrist glowed and a holographic screen showed the incidents of Ralem's destruction in both transformations, causing the newly arrived group to gape at the majesty of destruction as they stared agape that a child could cause all this.

"Don't worry ever since then I haven't transformed into any of those creatures so you can relax around me." said Ralem trying to calm down the group. On the outside the group seemed normal but on the inside he could sense their worry and concern except for the hooded figure's and Rakatan's for some reason. "Shall we continue the introductions?"

The Cathar male stepped forward with a proud stance, his chest puffing up to signify his confidence. "From where I am from they call me Tem Madong and shall follow you in all of your teachings despite of your age. The Cathars repesct any leader as long as they are strong and knowledgable in their teachings."

Ralem was tight-lipped, not quite sure on how to respond to such a speech but he smiled gently in response. "Um thank you, I appreciate the gesture."

Tem Madong nodded curtly before stepping back into line. The next person to present themselves was the dark-skinned male with dark goggles over his eyes. "My name is Quan-Jang." After the brief introduction Quan-Jang stepped back into line with Ralem staring at him for a moment blinking a few times then looking towards the male Twi'lek.

"My name is Hawk Ryo and I come from Ryloth. I also wish you the best of luck in your teachings and do not worry about your age, it will not be a factor in our journey together." Hawk Ryo finished his introduction then returned back into the line.

Next the teen Human female walked forward with a soft smile on her face. "Hi there cutie, name's Lanoree Brock and if you need any help with them if they get out of hand just let me know."

Ralem blushed brightly at the compliment and just kept his eyes to the ground. He could hear laughter from the two females in the group and the Yashan shimmed in place.

"I have to admit this is going far better than I imagined," Ralem said. "For a moment I was expecting at least one of you, if not most of you, to start rejecting me and so seeing you guys accept me so openly, it means a lot."

Kora, Tem Madong, Quan-Jang, Ketu, Daegen Lok, Hawk Ryo, and Lanoree Brock smiled at the Yashan. Ralem then glanced at the Rakatan but visibly shuttered at the sensation of evil energy radiating from the Rakatan, the winds suddenly picking up tremendous speed causing the rest of the group to cover themselves. The blue-skinned Rakatan growled malevolently as he grabbed an object inside his sleeve and pulled it out, revealing a large hilt. The hilt ignited and a blade that shone with red fire, the reflection of the light tinted against the Rakatan's skin. A ferocious roar erupted from the Rakatan as he charged towards Ralem, the Yashan nimbly dodging to the left of the Rakatan's downward slash.

Ralem quickly got to his feet and used the Force to lift the savage Rakatan off a few feet from the ground, the malice creature struggling violently. Ralem glared before he threw the Rakatan against the wall of the mountain creating a deep indention.

"Who are you and why are you trying to kill me?" shouted Ralem his eyes beginning to darken. "Answer me quickly if you want to live."

The pinned Rakatan chortled amusingly. "Insolent cur, you dare lay a hand against the Predor Tul'kar of the Infinite Empire? Fool we will do as we wish with you and your kind, these Force-users. We are victors of this galaxy and we shall use your power to complete these objectives, and your quarrels will be futile."

Ralem used the Force to pull the fire blade hilt away from Tul'kar and upon grabbing it, he felt a massive wave of dark energy from it almost causing the Yashan to drop to his knees, his entire arm starting to vibrate. Ralem shook his head as he focused on his interrogation, his eyes darken to its yellow-bronze color. He pressed a small button and the red fire blade disappeared; he pressed the same button again and the fire blade appeared again, the blade standing at least 5-6 feet in length. Ralem waved the blade around hearing the soft deep buzzing sound of the blade. The Yashan noted that the red blade itself held no weight outside of the hilt itself, weighing at least a pound itself of metal that made the hilt.

"Fascinating, the sensation feels phenomenal in one's hands," commented Ralem continuing to twirl the new weapon as he made his way towards the Rakatan. "Though I feel a strong dark temptation coming from the blade itself, what is exactly is it ade of?"

"You think I would waste my breath telling you on how to build these weapons?" spat Tul'kar. "I would rather die than betray my people."

Ralem stood in front of the Rakatan with a cruel smirk on his face. "And that would be an admirable quality but the problem here is that you tried to kill me on MY planet, on MY turf. Not to mention it's my duty to protect my future students from any sort of harm, and seeing as you are a part of some larger organization, it seems best that I start with you." The Yashan reached out his hand and placed it on the Rakatan's forhead and meditated.

"Don't touch me you-" Tul'kar started but he started to make choking noises and his pupils started to dilate. Images started to flood Ralem's consciouness: Knowledge and history of the Rakatan Infinte Empire, the first major galactic government and they used their knowledge to conquer and enslave other species across the galaxy, from Humans to Sand People.

 _Many years ago, the Kwa- a reptilian species from the planet Dathomir- arrived on Lehon, the homeworld of the Rakata species, via their Infinite Gate technology that allowed the Kwa to travel instantaneously across the galaxy. As they had done on many worlds before, the Kwa became the Rakata's benefactor's, teaching them advanced technology. However the Kwa were horrified to realize that the Rakata were a cannibalistic race that ignored the Kwa's teachings. Pairing their agression and desire for conquest with the Kwa technology, the Rakata expanded out from Lehon and began to conquer other worlds in the Unknown Regions._

 _More images showed Tul'kar slaughtering millions of civilians and warriors alike, chewing on the flesh of children with demonic smile on his face. The multitude of rapes from countless women, tears raining down their cheeks from the unholy actions followed by their untimely demise shortly after._

Ralem nearly vomited from what he saw but he held it in as he finished his mental barrage. Taking the hilt and activating the blade, Ralem stabbed the Rakatan in the stomach. Then he proceeded to slash the helpless Rakatan into smaller and smaller pieces as those pieces fell to the ground. Ralem panted heavily as the rest of the group stared at the Yashan with fright and concern, wondering what possessed the child to commit such a heinous act.

The hooded figure strolled behind the distracted Yashan and placed his hand behind Ralem's head, his hand started to glow a faint white color causing the Yashan to wobble back and forth before he fell front wards only to be caught by the figure.

"How were you able to do that?" demanded Ketu. "And what the hell just happened, why did he slaughtered that Rakatan?"

The figured carried the unconscious Ralem bridal-style before acknowledging the man. "My people are a tribe of Bendu monks from the planet Thape. We dedicated ourselves to the study of numerology and beliefs to non-confrontational principles. We were the first group that ever discovered and studied the Force, a mystical energy that flowed through all living things and bound the galaxy together. To answer your question we explored the spiritual aspect of the Force but for a reason unknown to us until now, we weren't able to harness the physical side of it. During our journey to the snowy Ando Prime, a nearby planet to ours, we made our home in the Andobi Mountains where we stayed in isolation. One day we felt an unnaturally stong presence in the Force and amongst the winds we heard a child's voice calling out to us to follow it. After travelling many miles we discovered a mysterious pyramidal edifice half-buried in the snow. We felt a powerful presence inside of it and we believed that, some day, we could hear its "voice" through patient meditation. For nearly a decade, we gathered round the pyramid, kneeling before it even under heavy snowfall until one day, the pyramid sprang to life and we entered inside it, only to discover it was a starship. Then the ship began its journey to this very planet, and here we are now."

"That's quite a tale," said Hawk Ryo. "So if I'm understanding correctly, this Force is something that binds us all together. And that there are two aspects of it that we will need to learn: the physical and spiritual, correct?"

"Yes but that is not my duty to teach you, it is his," the hooded figure explained. "I can sense there is something grand inside of him, something that I don't think anyone will ever understand, not even himself. But there is also anger deep inside, anger that could cause devastation potentially across the galaxy."

"If that's true, then perhaps learning the Force shouldn't be a good idea if it's able to corrupt and slaughter someone to that degree." Kora said eyeing the disemboweled body of the Rakatan.

"Though I am inclined to agree with you young one, but the child was acting in self-defense and I could sense there was more to this than the child can currently tell us," the hooded man said. "So I will take him instead to make sure he is alright, you are welcome to either come with me or go back to your homes, you are not obligated to stay here."

With that said the hooded man carried Ralem to the ship leaving the group of to ponder on their next course of action. Lanoree Brock's thoughts lingered back to when Ralem first introduced himself; he was nervous but kind, being isolated on a remote for nearly a year would be hard on anyone. Taking a breath she followed the hooded man and Ralem up the ramp into the ship, the others soon followed.

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

 **Medical ward; an hour later**

Ralem groaned as he slowly sat up, his vision blurry but started to clear up. He quickly noticed Cortana next to him with a worried look on her face. He sighed leaning his head against the wall and closed his eyes.

"Uh my head, what happened?" inquired Ralem. "The last thing I remember is anger then a flash of white light. I'm surprised I haven't gotten any brain damage yet."

Cortana pulled up a holographic screen next to Ralem's head. "I'm not sure but based on my analysis you seem in perfect health. Aside from the fact that you killed a Rakatan."

"From what I saw I did the right thing," defended Ralem. "Though I may have been going a bit overboard."

Cortana frowned at the Yashan. "What did you mean 'what you saw'?"

Ralem rubbed his face, scrunching his eyes in the process thinking back to that event. "I placed my hand on that Rakatan's forehead and meditated for some reason, and I saw what looked like flashbacks. I saw death, murder, rape, genocide, war, it was- it was sickening, I almost threw up." Ralem drew his legs up to his chest, placed his chin on his knees, and stared at the wall in front trying to forget what he saw.

"I was already ok with the idea of me leading an entire group of people to the idea of the Force but because of me I may have already caused a war within a few minutes of being leader." sighed Ralem dejectedly.

"It'll be ok Ralem, for the last eight months I've never seen someone like you. You've been through a lot of trauma and still managed to push forward, though I see that you tend to push your emotions down and not talk about them. Hopefully this new group will help you with that." soothed Cortana. She attempted to place her hand on Ralem but pulled back remembering that she still couldn't physically touch anything.

"If you are able, the rest of the group are waiting in the Control Center," Cortana quickly said before she dematerialized from the room. Ralem noticed that Cortana disappeared from his peripherals and stood up from the bed but quickly realizing that he didn't have clothes on.

"Cortana, I need some clothes!"

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

 **Control Center**

The Yashan skidded to a halt when he saw the 8 other figures crowded over a holographic screen, which he identified as the journal he had been using for the last eight months. Lanoree was the first to acknowledged Ralem's presence, gesturing him over to the group.

"Ralem glad you could join us, how are you feeling?" asked Lanoree.

The young Yashan was a bit flustered from the attention of someone he considered pretty but he was knocked out of his stupor by Lanoree suddenly by his side and dragged him to the screen by his hand.

"We have a few questions based on what you'd written, mainly how do you access the Force?" Lanoree continued her questioning.

"Well um, to be honest it's just something that you 'feel' more than anything else," explained Ralem. "Kind of like when you have a gut feeling but you concentrate on that feeling and it works. Let me show you."

Ralem closed his eyes, laid his palm frontward and concenrated on a row of five chairs. The chairs started to wobble then started to levitate a few feet off the ground. Ralem reopened his eyes hearing the awing of the crowd as they stared in wonder of such a feat. Then he placed the chairs back in their original spot relaxing his shoulders.

"Now give it a try," encouraged Ralem. "Don't worry about lifting all of them, I've been practicing for eight months and I've been able to only lift a few hundred pounds."

"A few hundred pounds? The hell kind of training have you been doing here?" asked Daegen Lok. His response was an elbow to the ribs by Ketu. "What? It's a legitmate question!"

"I don't know bench press a few logs, kill a few raptors, skydive off several hundred foot trees, drink plenty of juice," explained Ralem. "Just happens I guess. Any lift those chairs and we'll work off of that."

Kora, Hawk Ryo, Tem Madong, Quan-Jang, Lanoree, Ketu, and Daegen Lok slowly lifted one arm each and tried to lift the chairs off the ground. Except for the hooded figure quickly catching the Yashan's attention. The hooded figure walked over to Ralem before stopping next to his side, observing the group as well.

"You're probably wondering how I caused you to pass out," calmy stated the hooded figure.

"Certainly crossed my mind, figuring that I was the only person who was able to use the Force," Ralem stated briskly. "But with your guise I'm sure there's a certain aspect I'm missing from this."

The figure removed his hood to reveal a aged male Talid with white long hair streamed together into braids by beads and a white beard. His body was stocky with a tan thick hide, his eyes were narrow and his nose was flat. In those eyes Ralem could sense a kindered and playful spirit but with a calm dameanor.

"We both know that something's holding you back from your full potential," the Talid started briefly. "I took particular notice on your thoughts on Tython and its flucuation with Force if there is any sort of unbalancement. Emotional health is the key to your survival, and what you have been doing these few months isn't true balance."

"Sounds like you've been talking to Cortana," Ralem chastly replied crossing his arms against his chest. "Besides it's working well for me so far. I didn't catch your name."

"You didn't ask," chortled the Talid. "How long do you think your method will work until you destroy everything?"

Ralem only took a deep breath to dignify an answer.

"I can help you control your transformations." That peaked the Yashan's curiousity. Ralem turned to stare at the Talid with an amused expression.

"You're going to help me control _THIS_?" asked Ralem pointing down to himself. "Sorry it's just after that night, I've been too afraid to go back to... _THAT_."

The Talid placed a comforting hand to Ralem's shoulder. "It's natural to be afraid of something but what is not natural is to let that fear linger on for too long, it will create unbalancement and lack of focus."

Ralem exhaled deeply. "Alright you got yourself a deal. When do we begin?"

"Right now if you wish." the Talid offered.

"We'll need an wide open field if we are going to perform this correctly, the ship is too small for-" Ralem started to say but the Talid silenced him with a hand.

"There will be no need for such arrangements, for what I have planned will not be of a physical control but of an emotional." spoke the Talid.

"Figures," muttered Ralem. "So where do you suppose we go then?"

"Your chambers shall suffice. It's a place you're familiar with and it will have a serene effect on you, calming your mind." explained the Talid. He turned towards the entrance of the Control Center with the Yashan slowly following.

"What is your name by the way?" asked Ralem.

"My name is Gra'pa, young Je'daii." said Gra'pa as he strode across the floor.

"Je'daii? What does that mean?" Ralem questioned with a furrowed brow. Gra'pa chuckled at the amusing expression on the Yashan's face before he gave him a simple pat on the head.

"It is a Dai Bendu expression simply meaning 'mystic center'," replied Gra'pa. Ralem slowly nodded his head, not quite understanding the meaning of it but he accepted the name nonetheless.

'Je'daii,' thought Ralem. 'Sounds like a good name for a group.'

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

 **Ralem's chambers**

The Yashan sat on his bed cross-legged as he continued to watch Gra'pa light some candles, lowered the room's main lights and drew unfamilar patterns onto the floor. Once he was done Gra'pa sat onto a chair right across from Ralem.

"What I have is set up a small ritual circle that should help you grant access to the beasts that dwell within," Gra'pa explained. "Now I want you to start meditating. We'll work from there."

"Aright if you say so," Ralem nervously agreed before placing both his closed fists knuckle to knuckle and closed his eyes. His heart rate started to slow down after several minutes of absolute silence.

 **Ralem's mindscape:**

 _Ralem opened his eyes to find himself in a field of tall grass, once he stood to observe his surrondings he noticed that the grass wentup to his knees. Upon his obersvation the landscape was very sparse outside of a few trees scattered aimlessly. Ralem started to walk around wondering what he could find when his foot bumped into something. He glanced down to see the black end of a black and white striped tail, and it started to move away from him before moving upwards._

 _Ralem's heartbeat started to quicken as he came to the conclusion of creature he found first. Slowly turning around Ralem came face to face with the giant white glowing tiger, staring down at him with a mischevious glint in his eyes. Ralem started to walk backwards when the tiger's right paw placed itself behind Ralem with a resounding thud, preventing the Yashan from escaping. The tiger proceeded to move its paw forwards dragging Ralem with it before scooping him up and placing him on his head. The tiger then stood up from the ground and started to walk across the plains towards a dark colored mountain in the distance._

 _Ralem stared at the tiger below in confusion when a thunderous voice began to speak. "_ _ **Relax cub, I'm not going to eat you if that's what you are thinking. Besides you wouldn't even make a suitable crumb from my meal.**_ _"_

 _Ralem frowned at the insult but wisely kept his mouth about the matter. "So... who exactly are you?"_

 _"_ _ **The name's Byakko. To put it simply I am you, well, one aspect of you. I represent the admirable qualities of courage and patience, pretty much the reason why you haven't lost your mind yet on Tython thus saving your life. You're welcome by the way.**_ _"_

 _"Not to be rude, but how exactly did you save my life?" asked Ralem._

 _"_ _ **I thought it would be fairly obvious but I would be happy to explain. Any time you had linger doubts about your responsibilities or missing your mother, I would be the one who would subconsciounessly give you hope and press you to move forward.**_ _"_

 _"Huh interesting, so what role does the dragon play in all this?" pondered Ralem. "Considering the last I took that form, he-we destroyed pretty much the entire jungle." The tiger shook his head side to side, a low rumbling chuckle could be felt underneath Ralem._

 _"_ _ **And here I thought Mr. High and Almighty would never get that stick outta his ass.**_ _" chuckled Byakko. "_ _ **Nah just kidding, he's a sweet guy. But a bit of a stickler for the rules.**_ _"_

 _"Isn't that a good thing though? Since order is suppose to bring balance or peace, something in that regard," stated Ralem._

 _"_ _ **In civilization most people would agree, but there is such a thing as too much order. If there is too much order then ceratin rights are taken away: freedom for example.**_ _" Byakko explained. "_ _ **Which is where I come in, I challenge Ryujin, the same dragon you transformed into, for a piece of his power to share with everyone else. Ryujin represents the strong central power of any one individual; kings, tyrants, politicians. But don't mistaken me for a hero cause I am not, if there is not one official person in charge then everything will fall into chaos. Civilization will always crave subjucation on some level, they believe it gives them purpose in this life.**_ _"_

 _"So essentially you bring freedom and this Ryujin brings order?" Ralem questioned. Byakko stopped towards the edge of the plains and sniffed the air._

 _"_ _ **He's close, probably hiding underground sleeping in his massive pile of gold.**_ _" Byakko spoke to himself aloud allowing Ralem to listen. "_ _ **This is where I make my stop, the rest of the journey will be on foot.**_ _"_

 _"Why do I have to go the rest of the way on foot? Are you forbidden or something?" Ralem asked._

 _"_ _ **Exactly, I can't enter Ryujin's realm unless he allows it and vice versa. It's how we maintain peace between us, it's a matter of pride and respect. Take care of yourself Ralem and try not to upset him, dragons are very sensitive creatures.**_ _" stated Byakko. Ralem took the advice and jumped off the tiger's head taking a few feet forward before stopping at the glowing white line that divided the two domains. He studied the other side of the line, looked exactly the same minus the dark colored mountain a few cliques away._

 _"So how long do you think it'll take me to get to Ryujin?" Ralem asked Byakko. Silence was the only response. "He's gone isn't he?" Turning around the Yashan was very much correct on his assumption. Ralem sighed irritatedly before looking back down to the glowing line. He lifted one foot and carefully placed on it on the line, hoping for no repercussions. When nothing happened Ralem stepped over the line and took two steps just in case it was a fluke._

 _Ralem crossed his arms as he studied the ground on either side of him. "Huh nothing happened. Then again this is in my mind so nothing should really be able to hurt, that'd be stupid. Anyway if I use my Force Speed I should be able to make it there within a minute or so." The Yashan stretched his limbs, feeling the sensation of the crackling of his joints. The next moment was blur as the ground itself was ripped apart from the blitzering speed, a thunderous boom echoed across the landscape. Within a few short moments Ralem halted his pursuit as he marveled in awe of what laid before him._

 _Ralem walked up to the wall and pressed his hand against it, feeling the coarse damp texture. He studied the formations looking for something to help him when an orange light came to life where his right hand laid. Curiousity taking over him Ralem applied pressure against it when suddenly the ground started quiver. The Yashan was suddenly flung a few miles back, right back to where the glowing white line laid before him. Ralem carefully rolled onto his back, his body in extreme pain as he watched the mountain start to move around._

 _"Guess that's not a mountain," deadpanned Ralem. "Should have figured that it was Ryujin. Ah my back is killing me." Ralem's left hand glowed a soft blue color as he placed it underneath his back, a cool sensation healing his pain._

 _Enormous mounds of ground and dirt bombarded their way towards the Yashan, debris flying in every conceviable direction. The ground tsunami made its way towards the slightly damaged Yashan, he lifted his hand to part it into two, leaving him in isolation from the destruction. Moments passed before the ground tsunami stopped but the lingering dirt particules clouded Ralem's vision._

 _"_ _ **Well hatchling,**_ _" an omnious baritone deep voice protruded from an unknown location. Ralem could hear a sniffing sound indicating that the dragon was searching for him. "_ _ **I SMELL you, I hear your breath, I FEEL your AIR. Where are you? Where are you?!**_ _" A black dragon head appeared in front of Ralem from the dust cloud, frightening the young Yahsan almost to death. But a sense of awe quickly spread itself across the Yashan's face. All Ralem could see was the snout of the dragon, even leaning back he couldn't see the dragon's eyes._

 _"_ _ **Ah there you are hatching, you had me worried for a moment. I thought I may have killed you upon my arrival, my sincerest apologies,**_ _" the dragon apologized. He lowered his head and tilted it so the Yashan could stare directly into its glowing flame-like eye with a dark slitted pupil, almost as though he was challenging the Yashan to not accept his apology._

 _"It-its's alright, no harm done," stuttered Ralem picking himself off the ground. "I was just surprised to see you again after... that night."_

 _"_ _ **It seems that the fragile balance on Tython and the massive power hidden deep inside you was too much for you to handle,**_ _" Ryujin contemplated. "_ _ **But I sense you are to confront something, persumeably us.**_ _" Ryujin took a deep sniff on Ralem to sense a familiar scent. "_ _ **I can smell Byakko's scent radiating off you. So what did that feline tell you?**_ _"_

 _The ground started to shake violently as Ryujin started to lay down again, placing his head next to Ralem on the ground still keeping his eye on the Yashan. Ralem twidded with his hands nervously trying not to stare directly at the Ryujin's eye._

 _"Byakko explained to me the purpose of you two and how you play a role in the grand scheme of keeping the balance. You are the aspect of a strong central power of a individual and Byakko challenges you for a piece of that power to share with others. He also mentioned that too much order is a bad thing since it could take away someone's freedom," Ralem exolained. "What are your thoughts on that? He is right? I mean what he said makes sense but I want to get the whole story."_

 _Ryujin chortled amusingly. "_ _ **I must admit I am surprised by the fleabag, he actually managed to do something right besides lick himself clean.**_ _" Ralem peered away uncomfotably from the awckwardness of the situation. "_ _ **Nonetheless he is correct and you seem to have a firm grasp of it so I won't press the issue any further. Now back to the matter at hand, you want to learn how to control your transformations. I suppose you are ready for training plus you will need it for the Rakatan's.**_ _"_

 _"How do you know about that?" asked Ralem._

 _"_ _ **Simple when you drained the knowledge from that Rakatan when he tried to kill you, we absorbed that information. Don't forget we are you, so anything you know we know understand?**_ _" explained Ryujin. Ralem nodded which prompted Ryujin to continue with his teachings. "_ _ **If you want to fully master our energies then the training you will endure will not be easy. You must combine your natural energy with that of the Force to boost all your natural stats. This will allow the user to tap into the natural forces of the world, opening up new techniques to them and allowing them to power up existing ones.**_ _"_

 _"Alright that sounds pretty cool. Plus I'm already used to the hardships of training so throw everything you got at me," Ralem boasted. Ryujin chuckled amusingly at the tiny Yahsan, he will enjoy their training sessions together, the Yashan had spirit._

 _"_ _ **Good but I must warn you not to tell anyone else about this type of training,**_ _" Ryujin warned. Ralem stared confusingly at the mountain-sized dragon._

 _"Why shouldn't I tell them about this? This could potentially help them," debated Ralem._

 _"_ _ **Because this type of training is specifically designed for you, at least the later part of it when you pushed the boundaries even farther,**_ _" Byakko spoke appearing behind Ralem. The white tiger stretched its front paws against the dirt leaving a trail with his claws. "_ _ **Hello again Ryuji, it has been awhile.**_ _"_

 _"_ _ **Don't try to act prestigious. You and I both know that you have a mouth and don't like formalities. In any event he is right Ralem, the later part of your training would more than likely kill any other person who wasn't you.**_ _"_

 _Ralem nodded his head in respect. "I'm starting to have second thoughts about this."_

 _"_ _ **That's too bad because you already accepted. But we will start your training at another time, for now you have to return to the real world and lead the Je'daii to their destiny's.**_ _" stated Byakko. Before Ralem could say anything else he was thrown upwards from Byakko and Ryujin till his vision turned black._

 **Real World**

Ralem gasped and panted heavily, his chest heaving up and down quickly. Gra'pa was by his side wiping him down with a towl he had in hand.

"I take it you have found them," calmly stated Gra'pa. "What happened?"

"Not much but I did discover what their purpose is and they offered me some sort of training," Ralem said wiping his brow. "But they won't start it till later. For now let's head to the others, we need to figure out how we will teach the Je'daii the ways of the Force."

"Je'daii huh?" chuckled Gra'pa. "Seems you took note of my nickname for you."

Ralem sofly laughed. "Well it just felt right. Did you check on the others on their training?"

"Yes and they seem to have good potential. They will make powerful Je'daii eventaully, long as you train them correctly."

"More like if I train myself correctly." stated Ralem. "Ayway we'll have to figure out tenants, rulings, rankings, how to progress with said rankings, philososphy, a Code to follow by, and a few other things we can figure out."

"My you certainly have given this some thought," teased Gra'pa.

"Sue me I'm a Yashan, we're always prepared once we set our minds on something," stated Ralem bouncing himself off the bed. "Hopefully the others haven't destroyed the Central Control room yet."

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

Ralem was busy typing away on the holographic screen with the other leaders surronding him as they gave their advice and opinions on how the newly found Je'daii Order were to run their operations.

"And done!" stated Ralem as he leaned back on the chair. "What do you think?"

 **Prospects of the Je'daii**

 _To study the Force and learn to control and master all of its manifestations and abilities_

 _To live in a type of Moving Meditation, being over mindful of the Force and its undulations_

 _To bring peace through balance to the galaxy_

 _To monitor and assess all actions to ensure one is neither too entrenched in the light or darkness_

 _To embark on a lifelong physical and spiritual journey_

 _To maintain a balance in the Force throughout the galaxy_

 _To be reflective of a deep concentration and focus needed in the journey to obtain knowledge_

 _To learn and employ the art of healing, with and without the use of the Force_

 _To cultivate all martial art forms, includin armed combat and combat works_

 _To teach and learn and employ balance through introspection and meditation_

 _To cultivate and train one's mental and sensory skills with the Force_

 _To study in the Force through martial arts_

 _To learn the mysteries of the Force through the application of science, through producing and researching bizzare examples of alchemy_

 _To understand the manifestations of the Force through the arts; writing, calligraphy, dancing, drawing, sculpture, cooking, music, and theater_

 _To focus on the ways in which the Force could be applied to create or improve physical things_

 _To study and learn the ways of the Force through metallurgy and the construction of tools and weapons, and Force-imbued items_

 _To cultivate Force powers, and discover new ways in which to use the Force_

 _To understand the philosophies and abilities of other Force traditions and cultures around the galaxy_

 _To eliminate oppositions of the balance throughout the galaxy and maintain the balance_

 _To aid others who cannot defend themselves, and support the galaxy at large_

 _To bring balance to the light and dark sides of oneself_

 _To use knowledge to help improve the lives of beings around the galaxy_

 _To improve universal understanding of the Force, and contribute to scholarly and diplomatic efforts_

 **Ranks of the Je'daii Order**

 **Je'daii Youngling:**

 _A Je'daii Youngling referred to a Force-sensitive child who had begun their education at a Je'daii academy. Younglings studied at the academy for several years until they were selected for one-on-one training with a Je'daii mentor, at which point they were elevated to the rank of Padawan. As a Padawan they were expected to follow their Master to missions across the galaxy, or at one of the nine Great Temples._

 _ **Je'daii Padawn:**_

 _A Je'daii Padawan referred to a Force-sensitive adolescent who had begun one-on-one instruction with a Je'daii mentor. Padawans were members who had graduated from a Je'daii academy and had finished their time as Younglings. After being selected for one-on-one training with a Je'daii mentor, a Padawan is expected to follow their Master on missions across the galaxy. In addition to field work, Padawans are often assigned to train within one of the nine Great Temples to hone certain skills. After completing their training with their Masters, Padawans ascended to the rank of Journeyer and are charged with completing their training independently at each of the Great Temples._

 **Je'daii Journeyer:**

 _A Je'daii Journeyer referred to a Force-sensitive who has finished one-on-one instruction with a Je'daii mentor and were tasked with travelling to each of the nine Great Temples of the Je'daii Order and mastering the skills sets of each institution. Expected to master the disciplines of each Temple, the Journeyer must travel from institution to the other, training and mastering different skills until they have selcted one which to specialize in._

 **Je'daii Ranger:**

 _A Je'daii Ranger referred to a Force-sensitive who has completed their studies at each of the Great Temples as a Journeyer and are tasked with travelling the galaxy as representatives of the Je'daii Order. As representatives of the Je'daii Order, Rangers are the public face of the Order offworld and are stationed across the galaxy to prevent conflicts and war._

 **Je'daii Master:**

 _A Je'daii Master referred to a Force-sensitive who has completed their studies within the Je'daii Order and were seen to have mastery over their skills in the Force. Masters were members who had achieved such a comprehension of the Force as defined in the Ashla and the Bogan that the Masters' Council saw it fit to bestow upon them the rank of Master. Serving the Order by meditiating on the Balance, Masters would teach at the Great Temples, while others would go into seclusion and only appear to guide the rest of the Order in times of struggle or danger. The rank of Master denoted a Je'daii as a highly respected for their wisdom and understanding of the Force._

 **Je'daii Temple Master:**

 _A Je'daii Temple Master referred to a Force-sensitive who has exemplified as an Je'daii Master and has demonstrated true understanding of the Force. Numbering around nine at a given time, the Temple Masters act as stewards of the Great Temples and as leaders of the Je'daii Order. Temple Masters have attained the highest position within the Order and represent the wisest minds of the Je'daii Order. Making up the membership of the Masters' Council, the Temple Masters were each appointed as an leader of one of the nine Great Temples._

 **Je'daii Code:**

 _There is no ignorance; there is knowledge._

 _There is no fear; there is power._

 _I am the heart of the Force._

 _I am the revealing fire of light._

 _I am the mystery of darkness._

 _In balance with chaos and harmony._

 _Immortal in the Force._

"It's not much but it's a very good start in my opinion," said Ralem as he inspected their work. "Hopefully we'll work on it over time the more we discover the Force."

"Hm I think we're missing one important factor," Lanoree Brock said placing her hands on Ralem's shoulders. Ralem could feel her breath tickle his neck and sent weird sensations down his spine. "There should be a Grand Master or something for the Je'daii Order, someone everyone can follow and respect. I believe that should be you."

"Me? I don't know," Ralem was flattered by the gesture but he wasn't sure if he was qualified for the position just yet. "I mean I'm flattered but I know only a bit more about the Force than you, I don't think that-"

"You're right, I think the name Kage has a much better ring to it," Lanoree continued ignoring Ralem's plea. "All those in favor of making Ralem the Je'daii Order's first Kage, raise your hand." All 8 Je'daii Temple Masters raised their almost immediately. "Looks like it's settled then." Lanoree smiled smugly before planting a kiss on the Yashan's cheek causing his cheek's to burn bright red and hide his face.

Lanoree giggled at the flustered Ralem as she ruffled his spiky brown hair.

Ralem pushed the wrist communicator button. "Cortana, do you have that saber the Rakatan tried to kill me?"

" _Yes it is within safe hands,"_ Cortana said.

"Can you start the analysis on the weapon and see what the components are?" asked Ralem.

" _You're not thinking of trying to replicate the weapon are you?_ " inquired Cortana.

"We won't have much of a choice Cortana, if the Infinite Empire is as powerful as I've seen, we'll need every sort of weapon we can muster," explained Ralem. He clicked the communicator off, he rubbed his face as he now had a larger burdern then he figured and it started to bare its weight on him.

 **A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. The Je'daii Order is officially declared and soon to begin their studies within the Force. For those curious, the Tho Yor ships have the ability to transform into Temples, hence the Great Temples.**

 **The scene with the Rakata might be a arc in the future before Ralem is sent to the Clone Wars era.**

 **I have the first 9 chapters planned out for this story. The 9th chapter is when the Clone Wars arc begins.**

 **The Ryujin and Byakko scene is inspired by the Kyuubi from Naruto, not to mention there will be some familiar transformations as a result.**

 **Here is a brief summary of the upcoming 4th chapter:**

 **Three years have past and the Je'daii Order have flourished across Tython. And the now 13 year old Je'daii Kage is undergoing multiple studies including his training with Ryujin and Byakko and discovered a form simply known as Force Sage.**

 **Cortana finally finishes her study of the Rakatan weapon now known as a Forcesaber. She tells Ralem she has made a prototype of the saber but they'll need crystals that are found on the planets Illum and Dantooine.**

 **Updated Strength levels:**

 **Father- Star+ level**

 **Abeloth- Star level**

 **Grand Master Luke/Ralem Kyo Solstice- Planet+ level**

 **Son/Daughter- Planet level**

 **Darth Sidious- Moon level**

 **Yoda/Darth Bane/Darth Nihilus/Revan/Darth Plageuis- Multi-Continent+ level**

 **Mace Windu- Continent level**

 **Obi-Wan Kenobi/Count Dooku/Darth Maul- Island level (Count Dooku noted being Island level+)**

 **Anakin Skywalker- At least Small Island level/potentially country level+**

 **Ashoka Tano- City Block level+**


	4. One's Destiny

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything pertaining to the Star Wars franchise, all rights are acquired to Disney. The only things I own are my OC's Ralem Solstice.**

 **"Speaking"**

 **'Thoughts'**

 _ **'Telepathic'**_

 **Ralem's Collective:**

Ahsoka Tano

Asajj Ventress

Padme Amidala

Riyo Chuchi

Sabren Wren

Bastila Shan

Satele Shan

Shae Vizla

Zule Xiss

T'ra Saa

Kass Tod

Shaak Ti

Aayla Secura

Luminara

Barriss Offee

Tiplee

Tiplar

Bo-Katan Kryze

Duchess Satine

Mara Jade

Miraj Scintel

Darth Talon

Kora

Lanoree Brock

Cortana

Steele Gerrea

Marasiah Fel

Daughter

Lolo Purs

Lagos

Lumiya

Jarael

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

 **3 years later**

The Je'daii Order had bloomed marvelously under the reign of Ralem Solstice and his Grand Temple Masters, they pushed the boundaries of what the Force was capable of and they shared their knowledge with the Padawans, Journeyers, and Rangers. The Tho Yor ships had relocated across the planet and transformed into the Grand Temples, each Temple specifically designed for a certain craft of the Force:

 _The first Grand Temple was named Kaleth, the Temple of Knowledge. It perched over a huge Force nexus where Je'daii would gather as a whole when important matters arise. It was here where Ralem and the Grand Temple Masters made decisions and judgments were rendered on the behalf of the entire Je'daii Order._

 _The second Grand Temple was named Bodhi, the Temple of the Arts. It was located on the venerated plains of Tython, near the forest where Ralem lived for the first eight months on Thython. Bodhi is where the padawans and Masters study the Force as manifested through the arts, writing, calligraphy, dancing, drawing, sculpture, cooking, music, and theater._

 _The third Grand Temple was named Anil Kesh, the Temple of Science. The Je'daii scientists delved into science and alchemy. The emphasis was on the theoretical, but the results were often and something unpredictable. Anil Kesh straddles on the Chasm, a gorge so deep that no one during the 3 years has ever found the bottom. However the Je'daii noticed that something in the Chasm interfered with their senses; the stronger in the Force a user was, and the deeper they went, the worst the interference would become. Unfortunately some Je'daii had gone mad trying to learn the Chasm's secrets, even Ralem himself hadn't tried to mess with the Chasm, deeming it too dangerous for anyone to try and enter. To the Je'daii scientists, the Chasm represented the Force at its most mysterious, and they never ceased to try to plumb through the depths through science and the Force._

 _The fourth Grand Temple was named Mahara Kesh, the Temple of Healing. Mahara Kesh had the unique location of being in the Deep Ocean, and portions of it extended underwater. Here the focus is on the healing arts, both with and without the Force._

 _The fifth Grand Temple was named Vur Tepe, the Temple Forge. This temple lies directly over a volcano. An interior dome, built over the lava sea, ultizies the heat of the magma to power the temple. The emphasis of study in Vur Tepe is on the practical, and how the Force can be made to manifest physically. The local saying within the Je'daii Order was that whatever Anil Kesh can imagine, Vur Tepe could make real._

 _The sixth Grand Temple was named Qijong Kesh, the Temple of Force Skills. Located within the Silent Desert, the relative silence there aides the Je'daii in honing their abilities in mental and sensory uses of the Force._

 _The seventh Grand Temple was named Stav Kesh, the Temple of Martial Arts. Here the Je'daii study and hone their abilities in the martial arts and physical Force skills, such as the vigorous form called Alchaka created by Ralem and Gra'pa, which some of the Je'daii jokingly claim was invented just to keep warm since it was lodged against the side of a mountain. Weapons training was also taught here, as Stav Kesh works in harmony with Vur Tepe by testing new weaponry._

 _The eigth Grand Temple was named Padawan Kesh, the Je'daii Academy. At this temple, very young initiates who are strong in the Force are housed and taught until they are ready to be taken as Padawans by Je'daii Masters._

 _The final Grand Temple was named Akar Kesh, the Temple of Balance. Above this towering pinnacle floats the largest of the pyramid ships, the open-air temple that sits atop the pinnacle is valued and sacred as a place for introspective contemplation. Here the balancing of the light and dark sides of the Force is taught._

During those 3 years Ralem had pushed himself learning and expanding his mental and physical capabilities, quickly gaining the rightful position as Kage of the Je'daii Order. Even further with his training from Ryujin and Byakko, each entity explaining the necessary steps to gain control over his transforms but they also told him of a honing that same power without transforming into a dragon or tiger. This specific training entailed opening himself to the natural forces of the world as well as his connection to the Force.

Currently the Yashan was sitting directly underneath a large waterfall, levitating a few feet off the ground with silver pigmentation around his closed eyes, the water itself splitting around Ralem keeping himself dry with the Force. Ralem breathed slowly and methodically drowning out the noise of his surroundings and concentrated on the planet itself, trying to sense her essence. The Yashan opened his eyes to reveal his yellow-white coloring but his irides were toad-like.

" **Very good hatchling, it seems you are ready for the complete transformation,** " Ryujin commented mentally in Ralem's head. Ralem, with the help and advice of Gra'pa, had discovered a way of contacting his inner sleeves without going into complete meditation. He needed his complete attention on his training. " **Now this part will be the most dangerous since this is where Byakko and myself will combine our energies with yours. Cause if there is the slightest miscalculation, then you will die and possibly destroy everything around you within a 25 mile radius, perhaps even further.** "

A loud bored yawn was heard shortly after Ryujin's warning. " **Quit worrying the cub Ryu, he's not going to screw it up. Not if he wants to be in the arms of his mates again anyway, with their soft warm bodies wrapped around his.** "

Ralem sighed at the mentioning of his 'mates' as Byakko always brought up almost every single time. "Can you keep focus here? And stop trying to live vicariously through me, they don't like it as much anymore and neither do I."

Byakko snorted lazily, not really affected by the Yashan's words. " **Whatever, it doesn't matter to me anyway. Let's just do the ritual and get this over with.** "

Ralem lowered himself onto his feet, stretching his legs and back since he had been in meditation for several hours. Once completed he cleared his mind to prepare for the upcoming surge of power to overwhelm him and looked down towards his outfit. It was a gift from Lanoree when they first became a couple; it comprised of a sleeveless black coral armor with ridged sides, a small dark gold neck armor, three overlapping bronze gauntlets on each wrist, a dark gold belt with a holster carrying a single flintlock blaster, black pants tied with a black fabric around his waist, and dark brown boots.

Ralem then planted his feet firmly into the ground and took a Je'daii stance discipline, a technique designed for a Je'daii to position their bodies to channel the Force to increase defense and decrease the amount of damage taken in combat. He started to slowly move his arms and body in smooth flowing motion, letting the universe guide his movements and felt its energy course through him. His feet then followed his body in response and Ralem started to move around the large rock that centered itself in the middle of the waterfall. In a pure reflex moment he whipped his hand against the waterfall, barely striking the surface of it, and grasped a palm-sized amount of water. Causally he directed the movement of the water bubble without breaking it.

It traveled up his arm, across his shoulders, and back down to his left arm before Ralem calmly moved towards the edge of the large boulder to release the water bubble back to the stream. Once Ralem opened his eyes he saw that his hands were glowing in a golden shroud as was his armor, the shroud of Force energy flickered around him like flames. There were six marks on his neck armor, revealing to be his birthmarks, three on each side and his eyes became orange. A large version of Ralem's birthmark appeared across his stomach with a partial circle around it opening it on the top and six lines stretching from it; two of which spread down his legs where they part and wrap around his feet. The other two lines wrapped around his waist that connected behind him next to a circle on the center of his back.

"This power...it's unbelievable," exclaimed Ralem. He squeezed his palms and flexed his muscles, feeling that rich unadulterated power course through his veins. "But I must remain at ease, mind and body pure..." Footsteps interrupted Ralem's wordings to reveal a girl around the age of 16 with Trejos on her shoulder. She had long brown hair that draped across her shoulders, a scarlet scarf wrapped around her neck, a dark grey jacket, dark brown shirt and pants, silver bangles on her wrists with black gloves, knee high boots, and a blaster holster strapped to her thigh. She was amongst the most beautiful woman Ralem had ever seen, and she was his first love. Her sterling silver eyes pierced into his glowing orange, amazement and wonder filled her eyes as she observed the magnificence that stood before her.

"So it seems you finally mastered your transformations huh?" asked Lanoree. "It took you long enough, how long has it been... 3 years?"

Ralem rolled his eyes at her, nonetheless smiling at her teasing. Before Lanoree knew what happened, Ralem was behind her with his arms around her waist. She felt the soothing warm energy radiating off of him and she felt comfortable, then again she always felt comfortable around him. She leaned against the shorter Yashan, she stood three inches taller than him at 5'4 while he was 5'1 but that didn't make any difference to her. All that mattered was that he was hers, well besides being with Kora and Cortana, but she didn't mind.

"Sorry about that but I'll make it up to you I promise," muttered Ralem against her neck as he stood on the tips of his feet in order to do so. "But first is there any other business I need to attend to?"

"I'm afraid so, but it's not too bad. There are a group of Padawans that are ready to be initiated to the next stage of a Journeyer," said Lanoree. "Oh and before I forget, Cortana finally analyzed that Forcesaber from a few years back and she has created a prototype version but she said that we need to find a suitable power source since the one powering the Forcesaber was a synthesized crystal created from a laboratory. I think she mentioned about searching on the nearby planet of Illum using the Infinity Gates that the Kwa's built on Darthomir."

Ralem hummed softly half listening to what his girlfriend was saying, the other half more occupied by her fragrance. As the Yashan started to snuggled closer to her back, Lanoree took the opportunity and bopped him on the head knocking him out of his little trance. Ralem muttered in annoyance at the action but got the message as he released her from his grip, Trejos climbing down Lanoree's arm and slowly reached out towards the radiating Yashan. Ralem held his arm out to the Momong and Trejos cautiously crawled onto his arm, making a purring noise from the sudden warmth of Ralem's new form. Trejos then climbed to his usual spot on Ralem's shoulders.

Ralem proceeded to pick up Lanoree bridal style throwing her slightly off-guard but she quickly wrapped her arms around his neck keeping her in place.

"Shall we proceed my lady?" asked Ralem trying to be suave raising a single brow. Lanoree giggled pressing her forehead against his playfully.

"Onward my chariot steed!" shouted Lanoree pointing her finger into the distance only to be met with a deadpanned stare from Ralem, not too thrilled about being a 'steed'. "What?"

The Yashan didn't respond as he suddenly ran off, their surroundings became a blur around them to the point beyond recognition. Lanoree screamed in fright as she buried her head into her chest and Trejos screeched and dug his claws into Ralem's shoulders but the Yashan didn't feel anything. He felt at peace and serenity glossed over his senses, like everything could be seen and connected to each other. His heart thumped slowly but powerfully against his chest when he suddenly skidded to a halt, leaving a small ditch in his wake up to his knees.

Standing before them was Akar Kesh in all its glory, the multitude of Je'daii going on their daily duties though they momentarily stopped what they were doing once they caught sight of the Kage surrounded by golden fire. They stepped aside as the Kage walked past them towards the center of the Temple, every single Je'daii staring in confusion.

"Lanoree, we've arrived at the Temple." comforted Ralem gently shaking Lanoree. She slowly unraveled herself from Ralem and stood up, wobbling in place and looking a dazed. Ralem helped her in place grabbing her arm and placed it over his shoulder. "Lan, you alright?"

"That was...fun," Lanoree expressed with a smile. "I wasn't expecting you able to run that fast, it threw me off. We should do that again sometime." Ralem shook his head, a smile gracing his face followed by a quiet chuckle.

"C'mon we should meet with the others," said Ralem. Before Ralem could make a step forward, Lanoree grabbed him by his shoulder and gestured his whole body.

"You sure you want to remain in that... Sage mode? You'll probably scare the Padawans and perhaps the other Je'daiis." Lanoree commented. Ralem looked down upon his person examining his golden fiery body, he looked back up to Lanoree and shook his head.

"No I need to get use to the power of the form. And the best way to do that is by staying in it for as long as I can," said Ralem. Lanoree shrugged her shoulders at the younger Yashan's decision, it was his decision and he could be quite stubborn in several areas. The two Je'daii walked through the open-ended hallways before reaching to the center of the Temple and above them hovered a enormous teal/turquoise-colored, rotating, translucent crystal orb with a jagged surface emitting a flare of white aura.

However once Ralem stepped into the room, the color of the crystal changed to an orange-red color. A loud low hum echoed across the chamber and a orange beam of light shone upon Ralem for a brief moment before it returned to its normal turquoise coloring. Both Je'daii looked at each other in confusion and stared back at the crystal.

"What just happened?" asked Ralem.

"I don't know then again anything involving you is going to be weird." replied Lanoree. Ralem ignored the playful jab and continued towards the center of the temple. The Yashan keeping an eye on the crystal, a dark feeling creeping up in his stomach. The crystal never acted like that before and the past three years the Je'daii Council discovered that the crystal seemed to be sentient and alive, containing mysterious, mystical properties that even the Je'daii Alchemists have yet to understand. They were greeted by the other Grand Temple Masters, their faces expressing an obvious air of confusion but they quickly pushed that to the side and greeted the Kage.

"Welcome Kage Solstice, it's been quite a while." Madog welcomed taking in the Kage's glowing form in stride. "By the Force! What a sight to behold, your power... It's amazing!" Quickly all the other Grand Temple Masters surrounded Ralem and observed him.

"So this is what you have been training for these last few years," stated Quan-Jang tilting his head and walked around the young Kage, analyzing his new power. "Most intriguing, the amount of the Force that your body can withstand is astonishing."

Ralem's wrist communicator beeped alerting the Yashan that Cortana was calling. "What's going on Cort?"

" _Ralem I just detected a massive Force signature in your area, that wouldn't happen to be you would it?_ " Ralem gave the A.I a deadpanned stare before gesturing his entire body was covered in golden fire. Cortana's cheeks darkened to a purple hue in embarrassment. " _Right, not quite sure how I missed that... You look quite handsome. But I analyzed your last position to your current and I discovered that you ran at least 15,345 mph or Mach 20, given the circumference of the planet that you ran at least half of the planet in around 8 minutes. That's extraordinary but then again at this point this shouldn't be too shocking, you've been pushing the boundaries of the Force to new levels in what seems like forever, we're proud of you Ralem._ "

The Yashan was touched by his lover's declaration, he brought his index and middle fingers to his lips and brought them to Cortana's face on the holoscreen, Cortana giggling at the action.

"I appreciate Cort, how are the Je'daii faring?" asked Ralem.

" _Same as usual; peaceful and happy, though there are a few Je'daii that haven't come back from space and it's been a few weeks_ ," Cortana explained. Ralem rubbed his chin, that didn't sit well with him but then again it could only be a delay, traveling across space was a treacherous path to encounter since one would have to worry about space pirate raids or colliding with a body in space. He decided to give the benefit of the doubt to the missing Je'daii, they would no doubt return intact and in perfect health.

"Thank you Cortana, but I'm sure they're fine. Just some delays I'm sure, given how there are no real safe routes to travel across the galaxy I wouldn't be surprised." said Ralem. Cortana nodded slowly, not quite sure about the answer but she wasn't going to question it. It was true that there weren't any safe passages to travel in the galaxy, not to mention that space pirates were a very large problem since there weren't any law enforcement to stop them. Ralem dropped from his new form and back into his normal form, the Yashan craning his neck side to side, groaning in relief as he felt his neck pop in several places.

"I see you have returned my child," said Gra'pa making his appearance known behind the other Masters. He sat on a hover chair cross-legged with a studious look and hovered over to his friend. Ralem embraced his father-figure into a hug, haven't seen him in a long time. Gra'pa chuckled at the young Yashan before breaking off the hug, observing his face. "And it has been a while I must say, you've grown not just physically but mentally and spiritually in the Force as well. You have done me proud my boy."

The Yashan felt flattered at the compliment, especially from someone Ralem felt was superior to him in terms of what a Je'daii should be; peaceful, serene, wise, mature, studious, powerful, a leader. Ralem's face became slightly downtrodden, something that Lanoree and Gra'pa didn't miss. The elderly Talid placed his hand on Ralem's shoulder catching his attention.

"I know that look Solstice but don't compare yourself to me, the only reason why you do is because deep down you realize that something is missing inside of you: a sense of identity, am I correct?" comforted Gra'pa. "I have spent many decades trying to understand the universe and myself, and it has taken near the end of my life to figure that out. Now you might say that you are the Kage of the Je'daii Order but that is not who you are, that is your title. Once you find and understand what it is you want in yourself then you can truly lead our people." Ralem nodded slowly then looking at Lanoree who offered him a comforting smile. "But enough about philosophy, let's head towards the Padawans and continue with their progression."

"You're right Gra'pa and thank you," Ralem said. "But how do I know when I... You know, discover my purpose?"

"That I can not tell you since only you can figure that out. I know that doesn't seem helpful at the moment but that's the beauty of it; some discover this during times of sorrow and pain, others through meditation, or perhaps through family or love, it is rather difficult since people themselves are unique." Gra'pa explained. "By the time you do figure it out, you will understand."

"I suppose that's the beautiful thing about the Force; in the end the Force only tells us what it wants us to know, and we know nothing." stated Ralem as he observed the glowing crystalline orb above the temple.

" _There is no ignorance; there is knowledge_ ," retorted Lanoree. "The path to learning the Force is a never ending one, but one that enlightens and brings people together."

Ralem smirked at his girlfriend. "Didn't know you were quite the poet, anything else I should know?"

Lanoree pouted her lips and looked upwards with a dainty expression, cocking her head to the side as she pondered. "Hmm, there is but I can't say it out loud though."

Ralem furrowed his brow at the peculiar answer. "And why is that?"

Lanoree sauntered over to the young Yashan and whispered into his ear. Almost instantly the Yashan looked bashful as his cheeks were stained red and he flustered, looking in every direction besides at Lanoree and the other masters.

"Must you embarrass at this time?" interjected Kora, crossing her arms and peering at the teenage female. "He already has enough on his mind without you putting lewd images into them."

"It's fine Kora, I appreciate your sentiments though." Ralem stated clearing his throat. "But I, uh, have important business with the Padawans and Younglings, I'll catch up with you two later in my chambers."

"Aren't you the dirty one..." flirted Lanoree as she licked her lips tauntingly.

"Stop it!" shouted Ralem comically, pointing his finger accusingly at the female Je'daii. He was going to make another comment but he stopped himself as he grunted and stormed off causing Trejos to leap onto Kora's shoulders. Lanoree snickered at the flustered Yashan as he walked off.

"You know you shouldn't tease him like that, even if you mean well." commented Kora. Lanoree turned to face the white Twi'lek, her face holding confusion.

"Why? It's just some harmless flirting, how bad could it be?" asked Lanoree.

"Still, Ralem has enough on his mind to worry about plus at this point his Yashan biology is starting to mature if you know what I mean, so his mind is starting to get 'clouded'." Kora explained. "So for now don't try to seduce him, not until he gets everything straightened out."

Lanoree sighed and ran her hand through her hair. She knew that Kora was right but it has been 3 years since they started going out and her body was starting to crave some attention from a man, preferably her man. But she had sacrifice her wants so Ralem could bring the Order to its full potential. Now that she thought about it, Ralem had to be in a similar situation as she was along with Kora; for 3 years Ralem had been by himself except when he came back to share his knowledge and new abilities with the others, that was bound to make anybody crave attention but just like herself, he had put aside his wants for the Order. She started to feel a bit guilty when Kora spoke to her.

"I understand where you are coming from, I do. But hopefully it won't take much longer until Ralem can relax with us, a Je'daii must be patient." Kora said. Lanoree simply nodded her head and glanced towards the direction where Ralem had wondered off to, hoping of what Kora said was true.

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

 **With Ralem**

The Kage strolled down the empty open-ended hallway, his mind clouded with numerous thoughts.

" **You can talk to us about your problems if you want hatchling,** " Ryujin offered.

Ralem sighed heavily as he rubbed his face, a headache starting to form. "It's just that I don't know what I want to do after... THIS... The whole Je'daii Order business. I know there will be a time when I am no longer needed but that's what I'm afraid of."

" **So that is what you are afraid of, interesting...** " contemplated Ryujin. " **And you believe this has to do with your mates.** "

"Yes... No... Maybe? I don't know," Ralem said. "I'm just worried that my past will dictate my future you know?"

" **I wouldn't worry too much about that cub. Besides with Lanoree, Kora, and Cortana by your side and if they love you like they should, then you have nothing to worry about.** " interjected Byakko.

"Perhaps you're right," said Ralem. He halted in the middle of the hallway and leaned back against the wall, taking a moment to observe the sky above him. "There's no need to rush this, I have a full life ahead. Why spoil it now?"

" **Now that's more like it. Life will get too boring if you have all answers right away, it's all about the thrill of the unknown.** " commented Byakko. " **Which also means you can be more 'intimate' with your mates.** "

"Must you always have some sort of sexual innuendo?" asked Ralem narrowing his eyes towards the sky.

" **What? I'm just saying what we are all thinking, besides you know you want it just as much as Lanoree. I can practically smell it in waves.** " replied Byakko. Ryujin groaned in annoyance, having just enough of the perverted tiger's cravings.

" **Will you shut up about that?! We get it, you're in heat. The boy will mate with them once he's up to it, now stop bothering him it's starting to get on my nerves.** " Ryujin exclaimed. Byakko snickered at the response but relented anyway.

" **Alright alright, no need to get defensive. I was just messing around but my point still stands. You will have to show your dominance at some point, show them who is the Alpha male.** " said Byakko. Ralem just sighed but heeded his words.

"I'll try to keep that in mind." Ralem stated. He stepped away from the wall, crossed his arms, and slowly walked towards the destination of the Padawans, his thoughts lingering back to what Gra'pa said.

"A sense of identity huh? Where do I start though?" mumbled Ralem. He scratched his forehead trying to at least get a decent grip about who he might become in the future. "Kind of sad that I don't that much about myself, then again I've isolated myself from everyone for a few years." The Yashan exhaled through his nose and finally decided to focus on his teachings towards the Padawans. He had only inaugurated the Padawans and Younglings only once before and that was right the other Grand Temple Masters and himself had created the Je'daii Code.

He walked for a few moments before a cold sweat crawled up his spine, stopping him immediately. Ralem turned around expecting someone to be behind him but he found only an empty hallway.

" **You cannot hide.** " Ralem jumped from the sudden dark ominous voice echoing around him. " **I see you. There is no life in the void. Only death.** " An eye appeared in front of the young Yashan, floating in mid-air a few inches away from him. The eye was rimmed with fire, but was itself glazed, yellow like gold, watchful and intent, and the black slit of its pupil opened on a pit, a window into nothing. But for some reason Ralem could not place, he seemed to be familiar with it. Which was odd considering that he had never seen that thing in the first place. But he couldn't help but feel drawn to it, feeling a strong tie to it. Could this eye be the same being that created him and Cortana?

Ralem shook his head. No that couldn't be true, this eye felt familiar to him but he could feel the rage and jealously radiating from it. The Eye continued to stare at him in foul content before narrowing its pupil, the rim surrounding it burn brighter causing Ralem to fall over and cover his eyes.

" **So this is what Father has tried to replace us with,** " The Eye spat. Floating closer towards the Yashan it continued. " **He honestly thought this bastard child would be able to replace us? Ha, pathetic! You can barley stand on your own two feet in the presence of me and yet you are suppose to bring balance to the Force?!** " Ralem was flung from his back and pinned against the wall which shattered behind him. He tried to free himself but he couldn't move his arms or any part of his body. Ralem tried to yell for help but suddenly he felt his throat being strangled. The Eye morphed into a enormous being standing at around 9 feet tall wearing armor; brutal, spiky, but of very high quality: it had very ornate filigree but was also quite functional. The figure levitated a few feet into the air at the same height as Ralem.

" **What makes you so special?** " asked the armored figure. " **Why is that you get all the attention and we are ignored?** " The Yashan noticed the figures voice softening a bit and something akin to sadness. Ralem furrowed his brow at the unusual statements of the figure. Father? Could that mean-

Ralem screamed in pain as bolts of red lighting discharged from the figures fingertips. The Yashan withered in pain as he was helpless to defend himself. Fortunately for him, the figure ceased his attack almost as soon as he started, smoke rising from Ralem's body. Breathing heavily, Ralem's eyes darkened and began to fight back.

The figure laughed amusingly at the struggling Kage. " **You honestly think you can best me at this level? Fine I'll humor you, sometimes a pet needs to be disciplined.** " He released Ralem from his prison and he fell onto his knees, quickly getting up and revealing a snarl on his face. Ralem grabbed the sword that was strapped on his back and unsheathed it, using the Force to power it with a yellow glow. He leaped forward with a downward slash but hit air as the armored figure disappeared into smoke.

Ralem held his blade at an downward angle waiting for the figure to attack. He used the Force to try and sense him but with no result. Suddenly his blade was taken from him and pierced his shoulder, blood running down his left arm. Hissing in pain, Ralem tried to grab the hilt of his sword but was launched forward by a Force Push, his body tumbling in different directions. Ignoring the pain Ralem got up and pulled the sword out of his shoulder, walking backwards from the figure. Fear started to creep inside of Ralem.

" **Such a waste, I don't think I will ever understand why Father bothered to create you. But perhaps I can use you, you have great potential and I can feel your fear, your doubt.** " said the figure. " **Fear gives you focus, makes you stronger. And if you wanted to bring order to a galaxy full of chaos and anarchy, one must inspire fear. Fear. Fear attracts the fearful... The strong... The weak... The innocent... The corrupt. Fear is my ally and shall be yours as well.** "

Ralem didn't reply as his right hand started to glow blue healing his stab wound. "I agree that fear can be powerful but it is not something anybody wants to live with for the rest of their lives. I should know, I lived in fear for almost a year before the other Je'daii showed up. Afraid that I would disappoint them, afraid that I wouldn't live up to the expectations others had for me, afraid I lost my mother for good. But I'm done with it, time to discover who and what I am."

" **Inspiring speech but what are you without fear?** " asked the armored figure.

The Yashan tossed his sword into his right hand and twirled it in a circle before placing it in a downward stance, his orange eyes holding confidence within a stern glare. " **Time to find out.** "

The armored figure was thrown off by Ralem's sudden change in voice, as though he had two other people talking at the same time. Ralem charged forward holding his sword in front of him, activating his Force Sage mode as the armored figure fired his red lighting towards him. Ralem fired blue lighting towards the figure's shoulder causing to yell in pain and fall on his knees. Taking the opportunity Ralem threw a devastating uppercut to the armored figure, sending him high into the air. Jumping into the air Ralem threw a combination of kicks and punches to the figures body. Growing angry at the Yashan, the figure used the Force to slam Ralem into the ground below causing a small crater beneath him. As the mysterious figure levitated back down, Ralem quickly got out of the crater and slammed his palm into the stone floor. The ground beneath the armored figure shot up quickly and entrapped him by his arms and legs leaving his torso exposed.

Ralem threw his sword using the Force to cut the figure in half. Slowing down and taking a few deep breaths, Ralem brought the sword back to him telekinetically and observed the disembodied figure. Unfortunately the lower half suddenly jumped up kicking the Yashan away. Surprised by this he used the Force to lift the legs into the air and brought them towards him, slicing them into little pieces. Not taking any more chances Ralem walked over towards the other half, holding his Force-imbued sword over his head ready to strike.

" **You do realize that all this is futile,** " said the figure. " **You cannot stop people from being afraid, from corruption. It is in their nature to fail.** "

"Who are you?" asked Ralem disdain evident in his tone. The figure didn't respond causing Ralem's anger to rise. "At least answer me this: why do you want me dead?"

" **We both want you dead,** " answered the figure. " **It is not natural for something like you to exist. It upsets the cosmic balance. Death and destruction is the quintessential factors in life that is inevitable. Everyone suffers in this life, why should it be different beyond it?** "

Ralem slowly brought his sword down by his side, keeping the glow of his sword active. He stared at the disembodied head for a moment, trying to understand its meaning. But he refused to believe it, there were bound to be some sacred meaning to life otherwise Ralem himself would have just let himself be killed on Tython when he first arrived.

The Yashan knelt next to the armored head. "You may be right at the fact that death is inevitable but it shouldn't retract from the fact that people will have long lives to enjoy themselves. Death is complacent at old age, when you live life at its fullest potential and with no regrets. And that's something I want; not having any more second thoughts, regrets, or anything in the like."

The head scoffed at the short-shortsightedness of the Yashan. " **You say that now but wait until you leave the confines of your prison and witness the travesties of the galaxy. Then you will realize the truth of the matter: Madness is like gravity, all it takes is a little push.** "

The young Kage just about had enough of this conversation. He stood back up with his sword gripped tightly in his palm. "It's funny that you mentioned something about fear, how it's in their nature to fail. I'm going to give them something that everyone has but refuse to use; control. Control their own fates." Ralem then lifted his sword over his head and slashed at head, cutting it off from the rest of its body. As soon as he did that, the rest of the armored figure dissipated into smoke leaving no sign of him outside of the craters on the wall and floor.

As Ralem sheathed his sword back onto his back, Lanoree and the other masters came running towards the Kage. They halted a few feet from as they observed the hallway noticing the cracks on the floor and wall, the trail of blood on the Kage's shoulder and the fact that their leader was covered in golden fire again. Noticing their presence via the Force, Ralem turned around to face them and falling flat on his face in exhaustion.

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

Ralem suddenly bolted from the bed but quickly regretted it as his head pounding from a huge headache. He groaned and rubbed his eyes remembering the events that transpired from what seemed like forever. The Yashan threw his legs over the bed, hunched over, and rubbed his face when suddenly the flaming eye popped up in his mind startling him. He took a deep breath to clear his mind, thinking about about what that demonic creature said.

Ralem suddenly jumped when a hand placed itself on his shoulder. Once he calmed down he realized it was only Kora, along with Lanoree and Cortana in the room; he quickly realized that he was in his room back at the Stav Kesh temple.

"Uh my head, how long have I been out?" groaned Ralem leaning his head on Kora's shoulder, to which she gentle stroked his hair. "You think I would get used to all these blackouts that keep happening to me... Apparently not."

"What exactly Ralem? We felt your power surge into that Force Sage mode and for some reason we felt an overwhelming dark presence." implored Kora. Honest to the Force, she was scared for him and that wasn't something she took lightly to, considering the mental strains he was putting himself through. She comforted him by rubbing his shoulder, hearing him give a light purr brought some ease to her.

"To be honest I'm not quite sure myself, one moment I'm talking to Ryujin and Byakko about what I will do with my life and the next thing I'm being attack by this demonic being," explained Ralem. "But for some strange reason I felt as though we shared a bond of some kind, like I was connected to it somehow."

Lanoree, Kora, and Cortana all shared a look with each other, an uneasy feeling brewing inside them. They weren't quite sure how to absorb that information, even to this day Ralem was always a bit of a mystery but they loved him for it. Until something like this happened then they were short of an answer. Lanoree took the opportunity to sit opposite of Kora next to Ralem and held out her hand to hold his, but she hesitated. Sensing that she was conflicted, Ralem took her hand into his and rubbed his thumb over her knuckles, a tired smile appearing on his face but his eyes held a trace of guilt.

"I'm sorry," stated Ralem as he stared into Lanoree's eyes. "I'm sorry to all of you. You shouldn't deserve someone like me, having to wait for someone hand and foot with no reward for it." The Yashan Kage stood from his seat and paced back and forth across the room.

"You should have someone who actually can spend time with you and cherish every single moment. It's not like I don't want to spend time with all of you, I do, but it's just..." Ralem sighed as frustration started to overwhelm him, evident in his stride becoming faster and faster. "I guess the thing I'm afraid of most is that I don't know WHAT to be afraid, afraid of the unknown if that makes any sense." The Yashan stopped his pacing and leaned against the wall, looking away from his loved ones in shame.

Cortana walked over to Ralem and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, almost identical to the way she did it 3 years ago.

"Do you remember what I told you when you came aboard?" Cortana asked. Ralem didn't reply but he acknowledged her by looking at her. He still remembered how she was only a holographic A.I, not to mention that she tried to comfort him but couldn't physically touch him, something she took full advantage of since she upgraded to a an android. She retained that same beauty as well, never once changing anything about herself. "I once told you that I was your guardian and that I would protect and guide you. You have so much for the Je'daii Order and I think it is time for a moment to lie back and enjoy the fruits of your labor. I can understand why you are scared, but maybe you should heed your own advice for once."

Ralem gulped inaudibly and glanced towards Kora and Lanoree then back to Cortana. "You were never one to give me a break huh?"

Cortana smirked. "Well you know the old expression: Behind every strong man is a stronger woman."

"Or female android in this case." quipped Ralem as he chuckled at his lame joke. Cortana responded by lightly punching his shoulder, smiling at her love's dry humor.

"Damn straight, now I think I deserve a reward of some sort. I remember Lanoree offering something to my knowledge... What was it again?" Cortana stated with a husky undertone to it. Ralem's eyes widened at the A.I's suggestive statement but before he could do anything, he felt his crotch being handled. The female android smiled lustfully as she stroke the length of the Yashan's member through his pants. "One of the joys of being an android is that I can accurately estimate how large your cock will be now and in the future, and I must say it sends shivers down my spine."

Ralem blushed madly at the rather lewd statement she made and was completely thrown off-guard. But he found really erotic and unfortunately he couldn't move, his body became rigid. Cortana smirked at the control she had over him and continued her menstruation for a while longer, enjoying making him squirm. Before long she wanted more and stopped, making Ralem moan in displeasure from his pleasure ceasing.

Cortana began to take off the black armor covering Ralem's chest and ran her fingers up and down. For a thirteen year old Yashan male, Ralem was in near perfect shape considering the constant training he had undergone; not too bulky but definitely athletic. Cortana licked her lips as her thoughts dove into the multiple possibilities this could undergo.

Ralem's senses started to go wild and wanting to be outdone, he flipped positions with Cortana and pushed her against the wall. The Yashan proceeded to rub his crotch against her opening and he laid his head against her neck, planting small kisses against them. Ralem then crushed his lips onto her's in a passionate and lust-fueled kiss. Cortana's eyes rolled back at Ralem kissing her and a new perverted side to her started to take over as she wrapped her left arm around his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist. Cortana slightly opened her mouth as an invitation for Ralem to slide his tongue inside her mouth, an invitation Ralem took no time in accepting.

The two fought for dominance for a while until Ralem won because of his stamina and Cortana decided to let him ravage her. In the meantime she began to run her hands through his brown hair enjoying the feeling of how soft it was. Ralem in the meantime ran his hands up and down her body, feeling the soft blue-purple skin of her body. He eventually cupped her breasts and began licking and tweaking her nipples. Cortana moaned lustfully as Ralem began to toy with her breasts and rubbed her thighs together.

Ralem sensing what this meant smirked to himself as he trailed himself his left hand down her toned stomach all the way to her womanhood and began to prod at her folds that had quickly became soaked from his teasing.

Cortana whimpered in pleasure as her handsome Yashan lover began to finger while continuing to play with her breasts. She looked up from Ralem's shoulder to witness Kora's and Lanoree's expression of excitement and jealously. Cortana smiled smugly at their reactions until Ralem carried her off the wall and onto the bed, almost ignoring Kora and Lanoree.

Ralem took a step back to take off the remaining clothing he still had on and scattered them on the floor, revealing his muscular nude form with a pulsating 6 inch cock, quite large for someone his age. The female Je'daii stared in awe of the Yashan's member and remembered what Cortana said about it, she wasn't lying.

Noticing their expressions, Ralem became sightly smug and ordered them to take over their clothes. They eagerly complied and within no time their were scattered across the floor as well. All 3 women posed sexually across the bed trying to entice their man first; Lanoree shaking her ass in the air, Kora leaned against the bed opening her folds with her fingers, and Cortana doing a mixture of the two.

Ralem walked over to Kora and rubbed her white lekkus, sending pleasure across her body and shivers to occur. He gently tugged on them sending even more powerful pleasure sensations to overcome her senses. He picked up Kora so that she was leaning against his chest and pressed his lips on hers, gently stroking her lekkus as he did so. Ralem's hand explored her snow-white body and eventually groped her breasts while his other hand released the lekkus and rubbed her pussy. Kora moaned in pleasure and started to grind her womanhood against his hand. Ralem turned her around so that her ample breasts pressed against his chest, moaning at how soft they were.

Not wanting to be left out, Lanoree crawled over to Kora and rubbed her lips on her hardening buds. Kora moaned as her companions groped her ample breasts and she watched Lanoree's mouth tease her breasts. Lust overtook the female Twi'lek's senses as Lanoree took her mouth off her breasts and she pressed her lips onto Kora's in a fit of passion and began to kiss her friend. Cortana took this opportunity to study this and began to pleasure herself.

The two women flattened their breasts against each other and wrapped their arms around each other's backs and their tongues engaged in a fierce battle.

Next, Ralem laid on his back with Lanoree squatting over him with his face directly underneath her womanhood while Kora lowered her face to the Yashan's member.

"Are you ready?" Lanoree asked.

"Ready when you two lovely ladies are," Ralem said and then Kora gripped the Yashan's length and stroked the very top of it as she used her other hand to toy with his balls lightly. Ralem laid still as Kora stroked his cock when she cupped her breasts and wrapped them around his member, making him gasp for air at how soft the orbs were on his hardened length.

Ralem licked into Lanoree and tasted her fluids, causing to sway her plump ass over him a little and Kora rubbed her breasts on his lower shaft which fortunately for her, was the weakest area of his manhood and he temporarily ceased licking the inside of Lanoree to allow moans of pleasure to escape from his lips as Lanoree leaned over to take the head of his member into her mouth.

Ralem teased Lanoree until he was getting ready to cum and she was the first to realize this as she felt the head of his member move inside her mouth and her eyes gestured to the other woman and suddenly ceased licking the manhood between their ample bosoms and they all started blowing on it with their cool breaths, making Ralem shiver as his manhood was still wet from their licking while Kora stirred her tongue around it in her mouth as the two women reprised their role of jerking the Yashan's length with their breasts.

Lanoree tapped her tongue on the very top of Ralem's cock as she carefully took it into her mouth and he tasted her inner walls while using his thumb to circle her clit as Lanoree let out a muffled moan as she came and the action received paid off as his cum shot straight into her mouth while he licked her fluids clean.

"So how was that?" Kora asked him.

"That was mind blowing, simply amazing," complimented Ralem.

"Glad you enjoyed it." Lanoree said before she laid on her side and motioned for Ralem to come closer. Not needing to be told twice, Ralem laid behind Lanoree on his side setting the two of them in a spoons position and she arched her leg into the air while Kora joined Cortana. Ralem moved closer until his crotch was near hers and he slid himself into her, taking her virginity.

Ralem grunted at the pleasant feeling of warm and tight innards enveloping his cock while Lanoree moaned from how big he was inside of her and from the temporary pain of losing her virginity. Ralem waited for a few moments to allow her to get adjusted to the feeling of being filled for the first time before he began to pound into her.

Lanoree moaned loudly and her body rocked back and forth as Ralem started pummeling his erect member into her warm core and his hand snaked underneath her side to palm her breasts and began to toy with the large mounds. Lanoree kept her long slender leg arched high into the air and Ralem held it up with his right arm as his cock crashed into her walls and Lanoree felt it slamming deeper into her pussy.

The Yashan huskily growled as he mercilessly thrusted his manhood into Lanoree's pussy and her moist walls grinded him in return for his thrusts. He rubbed Lanoree's jiggling breasts as they heaved from the power of his thrusts and his fingers massaged the sizable orbs. Lanoree had to admit, he really knew how to pleasure a woman, especially it being his first time. His tender yet lustful treatment was enough to drive her senses insane with lust.

Lanoree moaned loudly and her eyes dimmed with ecstasy as Ralem's cock jetted inside of her warmth and she whimpered as Ralem toyed with her breasts and everytime he did so, she became tighter around him. She looked back as Ralem's crotch collided against hers and she looked into his golden hues which were darkened with lust as he crushed his lips into hers in a lust-fueled kiss.

Sweat dripped down from both lover's bodies and the lewd sound of flesh smacking against flesh filled the room as Ralem continued to drive his vein-covered cock into his lover's warmth.

Finally, Ralem and Lanoree separated lips as they came to moan together as her innards coiled on his cock and his vein-covered cock spasmed and filled her up with his essence. Her face lit up with a lewd expression of absolute pleasure as the Yashan filled her up to the brim and the lustful smile remained on her face as their fluids oozed out of her warmth.

"That was... the most amazing thing I have ever felt in my life. I love you," Lanoree said with tears brimming her eyes. Ralem felt his heart tug at the sight of her, bringing her in for a kiss.

"I love you too Lan, I love you so much." Ralem said before his head shot up away from his lovers, quickly leaving the bed his face occupied by the ceiling. The female Je'daii stared befuddled at the Kage but they quickly realized how nervous he became.

"What's wrong Ralem? Is that demon back?" Lanoree asked slowly leaving the bed towards her love. The Kage didn't answer her as he quickly put his clothes and armor back.

"No but we have a different problem now, remember that Rakatan who tried to kill me all those years ago?" Ralem didn't wait for a response. "Apparently he has some friends that are coming to visit here, and very soon might I add."

"How? What?" Cortana asked.

Ralem turned towards her and grasped her shoulders. "Cort I need you to warn the rest of the Order and get them prepared for a fight."

Cortana stared blankly at him, not quite sure how to process this. But it quickly dawned on her the severity of the situation. "Does this have to do with those missing Je'daii?"

"I'm afraid so, which lead to me having a premonition about what happened to those Je'daii and it's not pretty." explained Ralem. Cortana took a deep breath and analyzed the situation; given what weapons she knew the Rakatans had and the Force-imbued swords of the Je'daii, it was difficult to tell how a fight would play out but if she was being realistic, she believed the Rakatans would eventually slaughter the Je'daii, given how tiring the process of powering their swords were. Plus the prototype of the Forcesaber wasn't operational since there was no power source.

Ralem noticed the worried look on Cortana's face so he gave her a simple kiss. "It'll work out Cort, trust me. I won't let anything happen to you or the Order."

Cortana felt a tad bit better but still couldn't help feeling that this would somehow get worse.

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

A group of Rakatans made their stand against the Je'daii members who had their swords drawn ready for a fight. Tensions were high save for Rakatan with teal skin, he seemed at ease in this situation, even showing a smug smile. Thankfully the Kage had arrived and skidded to a halt at the Akar Kesh temple, Ralem noticing that the teal crystalline had turned orange. He ignored it for the moment to focus on the Rakatans.

The teal colored Rakatan stepped forward wearing exquisite robes but he didn't get very far when Madog pointed his sword at Rakatan's throat.

"Come now is that any way to treat one's guest?" asked Rakatan.

Madog snarled and pressed his sword against his throat. "I don't know, is that anyway to come to our planet and kill our people beforehand?"

"It's not my fault those brats were trespassing on the Infinite Empire's territory, any trespassers will be killed on sight as they should be."

"Given of what we've seen of those bodies, you did more than simply killed them."

The teal Rakatan snickered obnoxiously angering the Cathar to the brink. "What I can say? We like to indulge ourselves with lucrative activities."

Madog's hand start to shake from unbridled fury, a low growl emitting from his chest. "You think raping women and child and then killing them off is lucrative?"

"It does when you are superior to them." The Rakatan smugly replied. Madog almost slashed that smug Rakatan's head off if it was for Ralem using the Force to hinder the Cathar's action.

"That's enough Madog!" ordered Ralem. Madog quickly realized who's voice that was and relented from his strike, obviously not happy about it.

The Rakatan noticed the young Kage out of the corner of his eye. "Ah so you must be the one who started all this trouble."

"I beg to differ, my people were just travelling the galaxy when your people killed them. Besides I have never of the Infinite Empire." stated Ralem. His demeanor was calm and collected as he tried to keep from things spiraling under control. Besides this could be an ample opportunity to discover some information about the Infinite Empire to use later.

"It is cute that you are trying to deceive me, but I have witness many mongrels like you before and I can tell you are lying. You are the one responsible for the death of Tul'kar." spat the head Rakatan.

"Ah yes, Tul'kar... Wasn't much of a talker though, except when he was screaming like a little girl when he was being killed." mocked Ralem. "Although in fairness what I have done in comparison to the atrocities of your people is mere child's play."

"What is your name boy?" inquired the Rakatan.

"My name is Ralem Kyo Solstice, Kage of the Je'daii Order." stated the proud Kage. "An Order unparalleled in its conviction and purpose. An age of hope and prosperity shall begin across the galaxy and all will treasure it." A loud cheer was heard amongst the Je'daii for their leader, their enthusiasm unmatched. Until the Rakatan group started to laugh at the Je'daii's convictions, the head Rakatan making his way over to Ralem and placed an arm over his shoulder.

"Listen carefully, Solstice," began the Rakatan. "Skal'nas conquers and controls everything he rests his eyes upon. He leads an army so massive it shakes the ground with its march, so vast it drinks the rivers dry. All the God-King requires is this: a simple offering of earth and water. A token of the Je'daii's submission to the will of Skal'nas."

The Yashan contemplated the words of the Rakatan messenger. If what he said was true, then this fight would prove nigh-impossible to win which would lead his people to a massacre. "Submission. Unfortunately that's a bit of a problem. See, when I killed that Rakatan my people were able to _recreate_ your weapons, and even fix some of the flaws in the design... You're welcome. So if it's a fight you want, it's a fight you will not win."

Once Ralem was finished with his speech, he sensed Kora, Cortana, Lanoree, and Gra'pa behind him. He turned around to see them amongst the other Je'daii with their swords drawn. He was curious on how they arrived so quickly, perhaps the conversation was a lot longer than he anticipated. The Rakatan followed the Yashan's stare towards the four, especially Lanoree. A perverted smile crossed his face towards the human Je'daii as he eyed her figure with desire.

Ralem quickly noticed at whom the Rakatan was staring at and became upset.

"Hey! You keep this conversation on me, not her." exclaimed Ralem. The Rakatan eyed the young Yashan with curiosity before a look of realization dawned on him, laughing loudly.

"Oh I understand now, this is your woman." stated the Rakatan. He walked over to Lanoree, who's attention was now on him, and studied her. "Oh she is a gem indeed. A rare beauty for a human, she would sell quite nicely."

"At what exactly?" asked Ralem with discerning glare.

"Why a consort of course!" explained the Rakatan. "With her rare exotic beauty and wide hips, she would be quite the 'inspiration' for our troops."

"You son of a bit-"

"Choose your next words carefully, Solstice. They may be your last as a free man." threatened the Rakatan.

Ralem's glare intensified at this. He was about to fail his entire Order because of his attachments, no, because of his lack of experience. He tried all he could but that just led him to a corner. If he pursued this, it could be the end of everything. The troubled Yashan ponder at the offer as he observed all the Je'daii present; old, young, male, female, family, lovers. They watched him nervously, waiting for some kind of sign. He settled back to Lanoree one final time.

'Earth and water...' thought Ralem. 'You cannot stop people from being afraid, from corruption. It is in their nature to fail.'

Having made up his mind, Ralem drew the sword upon his back and used the Force to pull the Rakatan towards him. Seeing their capture the Rakatan, the Je'daii follow suit along with the Rakatans; swords and Forcesabers on full display.

"Madman! Madman!" exclaimed the Rakatan, fear and confusion clearly shown on his face.

"Perhaps, especially if you have suffered as much as I." said Ralem, his face once again calm and serene but his eyes held burning passion.

"No man threatens a messenger!"

"You bring the crowns and heads of conquered kings onto my planet! You insult my loves as if they were common whores. You threaten my people with slavery and death! You kill, rape, and exploit those who you deem inferior! Oh, I've chosen my words carefully Rakatan. Perhaps you should've done the same."

"This is blasphemy! This is madness!" retorted the Rakatan, clearly frightened out of his mind.

Hearing the frightened words of the Rakatan seemed to brought Ralem out of his stupor as he let the Rakatan go, taking a step back himself. Ralem took a moment and looked back towards Lanoree, who simply held her head higher.

Ralem faced the Rakatan messenger once more. Taking notice of a large gaping hole a foot away from them both. Ralem glanced towards the crystal before piecing it together. "Madness? **THIS IS TYTHON!** " Ralem then kicked the Rakatan down the deep hole, the Rakatan messenger screaming in peril. The rest of the Je'daii roared in approval as they slaughter the remaining Rakatans and threw them down the hole. Ralem simply sheathed his sword once again and proceeded to walk away, still hearing the screams of the perished.

Ralem levitated a few feet above his people, looking like angel descending from the heavens. "Peace. Balance. Order. These are what we hold true, is it not? To eliminate oppositions of balance throughout the galaxy and maintain that balance. To aid those who cannot defend themselves and use our knowledge of the Force to enlightened those very lives. Today that way of life is being threatened by the Rakatans and the Infinite Empire. From this point forward, we will stand and fight... and die! A new age had begun: an age of freedom! And all will know that people shall not hide in the shadows anymore, that they have a power even greater than fear: Choice."

A deafening roar of cheers echoed across the temple, shaking it to its very foundation. While the remaining Je'daii were celebrating their victory, Ralem made his way towards his loved ones. He brought Lanoree into a tight hug before he spoke to Gra'pa.

"I did what had to be done-" started Ralem but was cutoff from Gra'pa.

"I understand my boy, just make sure you follow this through. This decision you made as already changed the course of the galaxy, I have seen it." said Gra'pa. "But I cannot tell if this is a good or bad."

Ralem sighed and rubbed his chin in ponderment. "Cortana, get the prototype saber and contact the Kwi on Darthomir. We need to get more weapons, this is war now."

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

 **llum**

Howling winds screeched across the frozen tundra as Ralem and the other Grand Temple master trudged their way through an intense blizzard. They kept themselves warm using the Force technique of Tapas which allowed the user to draw on the power of the Force to stay warm in cold climates. They hadn't traveled very far from their ship when the blizzard happened almost blowing them off course. Luckily Ralem was able to sense a powerful pull coming westward and followed that surge when they came across a large cavern.

Taking refuge from the storm, the Je'daii took a moment to observe the majesty of which the cave held. Large sections of the cave held beautiful crystals of green and blue variations that twinkled from the rays of the sun shining down from the ceiling above. The Je'daii stared in awe and took in the breath-taking scenery.

"Thank the Force we are out of the cold." stated Ralem brushing himself off of snow that collected on his shoulder. "So how do we go about this?" Ralem pressed the communicator on his gauntlet and a hologram of Cortana appeared.

"Since you guys have arrived on Llum, trying finding a crystal. Not too big since the power cell inside the sabers are small. And you are pretty much done." Cortana explained.

"That's it?" asked Ralem. "Huh, I was honestly expecting more."

"Oh there is, I just didn't want to bore all of you with petty things like the internal superconductor which transfers the returning looping energy from the negative-charged flux aperture back into an internal power cell." said Cortana. Ralem and the other masters simply stared at Cortana, who's cheeks flushed with pink in embarrassment. Taking that as a que to leave, Cortana left one final piece of advice. "Also try not to cause these hilts to explode, they took a really long time to create."

"Well that was interesting. So what we just take apart a crystal and hope for the best?" implored Madog.

Ralem scratched his head and simply nodded. "I guess. That's the only option we have left." The Yashan grabbed his hilt from his belt; it was thin and rectangular, long enough to be grasped by two hands. It featured an angled crossguard as well as a serrated blade emitter, at least that's what Cortana said. He walked towards the nearest green crystal and, augmenting his punch with the Force, shattered the crystal into tiny pieces. Finding a crystal as small as an earring, Ralem opened the blade emitter at the bottom of the hilt and placed it inside. After closing it Ralem pressed the activation stud to turn it on, but it didn't. Confused Ralem pressed the activation stud again with no result. He opened the blade emitter to retrieve the crystal and he stared at it, wondering why it wouldn't work.

He immediately realized what the problem was; it wasn't the blade and it wasn't the crystal per say. The Force brought them to this cave so maybe these crystals are powered by the Force.

"I think I know what the problem is, these crystals must be powered by the Force. And if we are to use them then we must power them the same way we did it with the Force-imbued blades, except this time it shouldn't bother us when we use them." Ralem explained to the masters. "So keeping that in mind we have to find a crystal that we can imbued part of our powers into."

The Grand Temple masters nodded in understanding and started to use the Force to guide them in the caves, each master leading them in a different direction leaving Ralem alone in the cave. He eyed side to side before looking up comically waiting for something to happen... Nothing.

Ralem decided the best thing to do at the moment was to sit and meditate, maybe the Force would tell him or guide him to the crystal. He crossed his legs, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath to clear his thoughts and emotions. After several minutes went by Ralem felt a surge in his left side. Opening his eyes Ralem stood up and followed that feeling figuring it was the Force telling him where to go. Only problem was that it led him straight to a wall. The Yashan was confused for a moment but realized that the crystal may lie beyond the wall so he used Force Lighting to destroy a fair portion of the wall, deep enough so that he could through it with no trouble though he did use Force Push to remove all the smoke that filled up the hole.

Travelling quickly through the hole, Ralem only found an empty cavern. He looked around the cave trying to find a crystal of some kind but none appeared. Ralem couldn't figure out why the Force would bring him all the way out here for an empty space. When he turned to walk out, Ralem heard the crunch of a rock; taking a closer look the Yashan noticed that the rock had a shine to it even though it was black but on the flipside it was white. Curious Ralem observed both sides of this rock, or apparently crystal, when it dawned on him how this crystal reminded him of the moons of Tython; Ashla and Bogan.

At that moment Ralem realized that he was destined for this crystal, a crystal that represented the balance of the Je'daii Order. Breaking down the crystal down to the size of his thumbnail, he took his saber hilt in one hand and the crystal in the other, and meditated; using his own Force energy to power the crystal and hopefully the saber itself. Several minutes passed before Ralem opened his eyes and noticed no difference to the crystal, did it work?

Taking the crystal and placing it inside the blade emitter, Ralem pressed the activation stud... Nothing. Ralem sighed, drawing his hand down his face. Why wasn't this working? Maybe these crystals took longer to power up than he gave them credit for. He took the crystal out again and levitated it next to the saber hilt, focusing his power back into the crystal.

 **Few hours later**

Sweat dripped down his forehead as Ralem studied the crystal, it now had a glow on both sides. He felt exhausted as though he used all his power, maybe he did as far as he was concerned. Nonetheless he grabbed the crystal in mid-air and placed it right into the blade emitter, this time a bit hesitant to press the button.

A flat, black-colored blade of plasma with a faint white aura surrounding it appeared. Ralem cackled madly as he jumped in place, finally completing a task he set his mind to for hours straight. He sung the blade around noticing an odd sound resonating from it; it was high pitched like a whistle compared to deep hum of the Forcesaber. He was curious on how the other sabers would sound but he decided to take a rest first. Once he was rested Ralem went traveled back to the entrance of the cave where he was the only one there.

With no else around Ralem decided to practice using the blade himself, maybe try to create a unique combat designed for him.

 **A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I'm sorry for the late update. I'll try to post more chapters per week, 2 weeks at the latest.**

 **I wanted to take a moment and thank all the people who enjoyed this story, I didn't expect so many people to like this so quickly. It means a lot to me and I hope I can continue with supplying you with quality chapters.**

 **For those who are curious on what Ralem's outfit looks like, look up Nautolan Watchmen by thedarkestseason on Deviantart. Speaking of that, I have a Deviantart account (named SaiyanSage) that features some artwork pertaining to this story (Ralem's birthmark, lightsaber, blaster, etc.) and other stories I have wrote. If you're interested, please have a look and enjoy.**

 **I should also mention that I have created a poll asking how powerful Ralem Solstice should be by the time he enters the Clone Wars era. I would appreciate it if you would take a spare moment and vote.**

 **I also have a upcoming poll if my readers would be so kind to vote: Should Ralem Solstice be the Chosen One? This one you can make a vote on in the review section until I officially create that poll.**

 **As I have mentioned in the previous chapters, I am basing the Je'daii, Jedi, and Sith more on their counterparts from the Clone Wars Microseries and from Naruto. So if you haven't seen the Microseries, I would recommend it (the episodes aren't very long, 3-5 minutes at most). Below I have complied a list featuring both Naruto and Star Wars characters so that you can see the comparison between both and have a better idea about my power scaling (I will use this power scaling for my future Star Wars stories). Also I got my information from a website called Vs Battle Wiki.**

 **Power Scaling-**

 **Star to Star+ level:**

Father

Abeloth

 **Planet to Planet+ level:**

Grand Master Luke Skywalker

Ralem Kyo Solstice (potentially; potentially higher to Star level)

Son

Daughter

 **Moon to Moon+ level:**

Darth Sidious

Sith Emperor

Hagoromo Otsutsuki

Kaguya Otsutsuki

Naruto Uzumaki* (Overpowered Toneri's attack that cut the moon in half, without fighting at full power, due to that he had to release Kurama to fight against Hamura's statue. Assumed to be at least as powerful as Madara)

Sasuke Uchiha* (with Indra's Arrow)

Madara Uchiha* (via Chibaku Tensei)

 **Continent to Continent+ level:**

Yoda

Mace Windu

Darth Bane

Revan

Darth Nihilus

Darth Malak

Darth Plageuis

Toneri Otsutsuki

 **Country to Country+ level:**

Starkiller/Galen Marek

Ajunta Pall

Darth Vader

Obito Uchiha

Might Guy (8 Gates open)

Kakashi Hatake (with Obito's dual Sharingan)

 **Island to Island+ level:**

Anakin Skywalker (noted as Small Island+; potentially Country)

Count Dooku

Darth Maul

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Hashirama Senju

Minato Namikaze

Nagato Uzumaki (via Chibaku Tensei)

 **City to City+ level:**

Itachi Uchiha

Rock Lee

Gaara

Hinata Hyuuga

Jiraiya (Small City)

Orochimaru (at least equal to Jiraiya)

 **Town to Town+ level:**

Tsunade

 **City Block to City Block+ level:**

Konan (Town+ to Small Island with preparation)

Ahsoka Tano

Barriss Offee

Sasori

Sakura Haruno (stated to be Tsunade's equal in The Last movie)

 ***Naruto, Sasuke, and Madara are otherwise Continent to Continent+ level in Base form**

 **For those curious on how powerful Ralem Solstice at this point in time-**

 **Base form: City to City+ level (Itachi Uchiha)**

 **Force Sage mode: Island to Island+ level (Count Dooku)**


	5. Family Reunion

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything pertaining to the Star Wars franchise; all rights are acquired to Disney. The only things I own are my OC's Ralem Solstice.**

 **"Speaking"**

 **'Thoughts'**

 _ **'Telepathic'**_

 **Ralem's Collective:**

Ahsoka Tano

Asajj Ventress

Padme Amidala

Riyo Chuchi

Sabren Wren

Bastila Shan

Satele Shan

Shae Vizla

Adi Gallia

Shaak Ti

Aayla Secura

Luminara Unduli

Barriss Offee

Tiplee

Tiplar

Bo-Katan Kryze

Duchess Satine

Mara Jade

Miraj Scintel

Darth Talon

Kora

Lanoree Brock

Cortana

Steele Gerrea

Marasiah Fel

Daughter

Mina Bonteri

Komari Vosa

Queen Julia

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

The Yashan maneuvered acrobatically across the large cave, a dust cloud forming around the Kage almost hiding himself from sight. His blade whistled and sliced through the air at high velocity, the speed of it created a few afterimages of the blade and surrounded him like a shield protecting him from unseen enemies. He bounced against the high ceiling and the walls at resounding speeds and caused minor indentions each time he landed. Ralem ceased his practices with the saber as fatigue started to crawl onto him, he flicked his wrist to remove the dust cloud away revealing the Je'daii masters observing him. He wiped a small droplet of sweat from his brow and walked towards them taking a seat on the ground as he took breathes to collect his strength.

"Using the Force to amplify your speed and agility, while it does have its merits, is not really useful in a long term battle, at least by my standards." Ralem stated. "It drains the body in a short time span and once you are exhausted that is when the enemy can take you down. I think we can agree on that we use the Force amplifications in this manner to a minimum."

"If I may interject Kage Solstice, I believe that you may have exerted more Force energy during your demonstration than you meant to hence why you are exhausted," explained Hawk Ryo. "Perhaps you should practice the Force amplification technique so that you can minimize the amount of energy used and maximize the output of it."

Ralem took note of the suggestion from the male Twi'lek and nodded. "True, then again I've never really used the Force in a combative way outside of Force Lighting. But for now we'll worry about that later, our main concern is how to use these sabers along with using the Force in combat."

"I don't know if that is possible to use the Force in combat, at least in the middle of a duel," interjected Madog. "You'll need to have your full attention against your opponent plus it is the proper way of holding this kind of weapon during an attack. And since there is no weight from the saber besides the hilt and due to the weightlessness of the plasma and the strong gyroscopic effect generating from it, it will take a great amount of strength, dexterity, and skill not slice ourselves into little pieces."

Ralem absentmindly twirled the hilt of his saber between his fingers as he thought about what he was informed. His mind flashed back to when he held the Forcesaber in his hand 3 years ago; there was also no weight from the blade but from the hilt itself. But he noticed how both of the Forcesaber and his current saber weren't really too difficult to handle, however he could understand where Madog was coming from.

"So what do you suggest?" asked Ralem.

"There's not too much to say. We all have basic knowledge of dueling with swords but now we apply that same knowledge to these sabers." explained Madog. "Maybe we can develop our own styles of combat that suit us."

"I agree, so now we have to create a certain types of dueling forms so that future generations can face multiple types of enemies without much worry," said Ralem. "For example almost everyone in the galaxy uses a blaster in one way or another, so our sabers will have to find a way to counter that. And depending on how the future may turn out after the war with the Infinite Empire, we will have to grow accustom to dueling with other sabers like our own, both offensive and defensive."

"How long do you think it would take to create combat forms like these? Given the dilemma we had with the Rakatans back on Tython, we can't waste too much time perfecting them plus we have an entire planet filled with essentially unharmed Je'daii." Kora elucidated. "The longer we wait the closer the Rakatans will surely come back to kill us."

Ralem diverted his attention to his Twi'lek lover noticing the concerned look on her face. "I understand but what choice do we have? The only advantage we have right now is that we have been able to copy their weapons, nothing more. We have no ships that are battle worthy, no armor, no medical supplies in mass quantities, and most importantly no allies. This is our only chance to fight back, probably the only way to stop the entire galaxy from suffering a fate worse than death. I know your fear, just imagine how I feel. It all hinges back on me and if I'm strong enough to do what it is necessary, and I'm not even sure if I can but I'll try."

The Yashan exhaled softly through his nose realizing that he spoke from his emotions more than the current situation. "Sorry Kor, I just want to make sure you are safe. I know you will be but," Ralem ran his hand through his hair, sighing exhaustingly. "You know what I mean?"

Kora placed a sympathetic hand on Ralem's shoulder, giving him a small concerned smile. "Of course I do but you can't always be worrying about the big picture. Sometimes you have to relax and make sure you have the right pieces before starting the puzzle."

"I guess, maybe I'm too much of perfectionist given that back on Tython I had all the time in the world to master whatever new Force power I learned," Ralem acknowledged. "But I get what you are saying, thanks."

Temple Master Ketu cleared his throat gaining attention from the Kage. "Getting back to the main point, I believe that Master Madog brought up an important detail about the combat form ideology. About how other Je'daii feel about how they want to approach a certain situation; some may want a more aggressive and direct approach, others may aspire more to a peaceful one. How do we find a balance for that?"

"Hmm perhaps the answer to that question lies within the situation itself." Gra'pa suggested. "It depends on how the individual themselves think to handle a particular situation. There isn't a particular 'bad' form or idea to use; only how far someone is willing to dedicate their life to said idea."

"While that may be true, that still doesn't give us a direct answer to our problem." replied Daegan Lok. "Even if we were able to setup a system of combat, what would each form entail? Would one form be dedicated to just defense, offense, agility, or strength?"

Ralem cocked his head to side, shrugging his shoulders. "More than likely yes but that is where a true master would arise. Any form we choose will always have some of weakness to it, not much any of us can do about it. Nonetheless it is up to us as individuals to decide if what we chose is the best choice. So perhaps the best way to do that is to go travel throughout the galaxy and learn from the people themselves. The people of the galaxy will be our key to victory, for if we can become one with them then they will become one with the Force; two birds one stone."

"I agree with the Kage, it's about time we stepped forward and showed ourselves to the galaxy. We won't be able to make much of an impact if we continue to work in the shadows." said Quan-Jang.

"But where do we start? And what about the Je'daii back on Tython?" asked Lanoree.

Ralem licked his lips in thought. He hadn't entirely thought that part through yet. "Well perhaps one of us can stay back on Tython and start some kind of training form for these Lightsabers I suppose."

"Lightsaber?" questioned Lanoree.

"Yeah it just came to me. It sounded better than 'light sword' and there's no way I'm going to call these a Forcesaber." explained Ralem. "But I have to give the Rakatans credit for one thing that they have over us; they have a better security measure on their sabers."

"You're talking about the Activation Stud aren't you?" implored Madog.

"Yes, imagine you are sleeping one night and some thief or assassin comes in and snatches your Lightsaber; one press of the button and you're dead. However if we are able to get rid of the activation stud and just use the Force itself to activate then that's one less thing to worry about. But that's just my opinion on the matter." Ralem said.

"That's something we will have to meditate on later my friend, for now let's take a moment to rest and clear our heads." Gra'pa stated. The rest of the Je'daii masters agreed in unison and they lied down on the ground, except for Ralem. He stared towards the entrance of the cave as thoughts once again flooded his mind.

'Uh I feel exhausted. I haven't gotten any sleep since that attack that happened nearly twelve hours ago, speaking of that what was that armored guy going on about?' thought Ralem. During that fight he felt as though he knew that figure from somewhere and that feeling wasn't pleasant. Not to mention what the armored the figure said unnerved him significantly. 'He kept mentioning about me replacing _them_ , who is them exactly? I guess it doesn't really matter in the end since I'm apparently one of them, and that's what I'm afraid of.'

" **Do not fret my child; you will never be like them. You are much stronger in spirit than you give yourself credit for.** " A deep voice was heard inside of Ralem's head. He instantly stood up, recognizing that same voice that comforted him when he was alone on Tython three years ago. Ralem searched around the entire cave but found no one.

'Where are you?' Ralem said in his mind, hopefully being able to communicate with the voice.

" **I am all around you my son and yet nowhere. If you wish to know more then you know where to go.** " Once the voice finished speaking Ralem felt an ungodly strong force pulling him deeper into the cave, towards the hole where he discovered his lightsaber crystal. After a few minutes of walking he immediately drew his Lightsaber, activating the blade as he saw a figure sitting patiently on a rock. But what caused Ralem to hesitate was the fact that the figure looked exactly like him except that his skin was charcoal grey and his eyes were turquoise.

The grey duplicate observed him with a benevolent look in his eyes. " **To strike an unarmed man is hardly the Je'daii way you worked hard to achieve my son.** "

"And you must be the Father that I heard about." stated Ralem. "Now tell me you who are."

" **I will in good time, only after you sheathe your weapon. It is only fair.** "

Ralem hesitated for a moment, eyeing his duplicate for a moment for a sign of deceit. After finding no such indication, the Je'daii sheathed his saber and placed it back on his belt. The duplicate suddenly raised his arm towards Ralem, naturally causing the Je'daii to reach towards his lightsaber but stopped as a flat rock rose up from the ground.

" **Have a seat so that I can answer the questions you wish to have answered.** " said the duplicate. As Ralem took a seat opposite of the duplicate, he stared at it trying to figure out what he wanted to say first. " **Relax my child you have nothing to be nervous about, I only want to help you.** "

"So you are the Father." stated Ralem.

The figure nodded.

"And you are the same person who created me and Cortana yes?"

The figure nodded again.

"And you created me to bring balance to the Force."

" **Yes, you are the physical embodiment to the idea of balance. And you have grown strong but not strong enough to take my place.** " replied the Father.

Ralem furrowed his brow at the last sentence. "Take your place as what exactly?"

" **The Core of the Force. You have the Dark Side and the Light Side; one is selfish, the other is selfless and it is my duty to retain that balance.** "

The Je'daii placed his hand underneath his chin as he thought about what he was told. It made sense to him in a certain light; he couldn't explain how or why it did. Perhaps this was something you couldn't explain only experience. Though a certain question did pop up in his mind.

"If I am your son as you claim then why did you send me away?" Ralem asked. He had looked away when he asked the question and when he glanced back; he witnessed a pained look of sorrow and regret on the Father's face.

" **I have asked that same question myself for thirteen years. Maybe I was afraid of what I had planned would come into fruition.** **My children and I can manipulate the Force like no other; therefore it was necessary to withdraw from the temporal world and live here as anchorites.** "

"Like a sanctuary?"

" **And a prison. You cannot imagine what pain it is to have such love for your children and realize they could tear the very fabric of our universe.** "

"And you were afraid that they would try and kill me."

" **Yes I was. You were bound to be my greatest gift that I could give to the universe as compensation for my sins as a Father. I will always love my children no matter what, but they are starting to become too powerful, especially my other Son.** "

An image suddenly flashed in front of Ralem of a flaming eye, he shook his trying to get rid of the image.

" **You saw the flaming eye didn't you?** " the Father asked. Ralem stared at the Father with widened eyes. The Father chuckled amusingly at his son's expression. " **Ah. My older son, I suspect. We can take many forms. The shapes we embody are merely a reflection of the life force around us. The same applies to your two forms of Ryujin and Byakko; may I borrow them for a moment?** "

"What do you 'borrow them'?" The young Je'daii questioned. The Father raised his hand, picking up Ralem with the Force; the Je'daii was thrown off guard and he struggled to free himself, his legs flaying around. "Put me down!"

But the Father ignored his son's plea and he waved his arm towards himself, and a bright gold light erupted from multiple points across Ralem's body when ghostly apparitions of a tiger and dragon came forth, landing side by side next to Ralem. As the Father gently set Ralem back down onto the flat rock, Ralem froze in shock as his body suddenly felt cold. He turned his head side to side to observe Ryujin and Byakko for the first time in the real world; however they weren't as large as he remembered. Byakko sitting down was an entire head taller than Ralem who remained standing on top of the rock. Ryujin on the other hand was nearly as tall as the cavern; his head was only a few inches from the ceiling.

" **It has been a long time my friends hasn't it?** " said the Father. Both Ryujin and Byakko laid on the ground in accordance of a bow.

" **Indeed it has Master, how are you faring?** " asked Ryujin. Ralem said nothing as he observed the current situation. Master? Where they a part of the Father at some point?

" **Fairly well though the growing tides of power are starting to change between my children and I. You haven't changed much I see.** " Father stated.

" **We have been doing as you requested Master and kept an eye on Ralem and helped him in his training.** " said Byakko. " **Though I fear you are hiding something from us.** "

" **Everything is fine Byakko, there is no need for concern.** " replied Father. Ralem furrowed his brow at how quickly Father had dismissed Byakko's claims but he deemed it better not to question it. Ignoring that for now the Je'daii observed both Ryujin and Byakko, reaching over he brushed his hand against Ryujin's black scales feeling the smooth and firm textures. Ryujin merely glanced down towards the Yashan, not really bothered by the Je'daii's actions. Once he was done Ralem then patted Byakko's head as he felt the soft white fur and rubbed his hand against the tiger's head. Byakko lightly purred at the sensation when he placed his head on top of the Yashan's lap, causing his right leg to randomly kick out.

"Yeah you two certainly feel the same to me." commented Ralem. "So if I had to take a guess, this was one of the things you guys couldn't tell me right?"

" **Indeed my son when you were born, 'truly born', it had involved a ritual combining the Force itself and my blood which contain Byakko and Ryujin, who then merged with you.** " Father explained.

"Wait, wait. What do you mean 'combining the Force itself and your blood'? I thought you were the Force itself since you said you were the Core of the Force." stated Ralem.

" **I am. I merely channeled the raw power of the Force itself while merging my own knowledge with it, which gave birth to you hence why you were able to gain so much strength in a short amount time and gain a fair amount of Force powers as well.** " Father explained. Ralem nodded and folded his legs together, resting his head on top of them as he had a clear idea of what Father had entailed to him.

"I suppose that makes sense. However I am confused on another topic you mentioned earlier, you mentioned that your children were the manifestations of the Light Side and Dark Side of the Force but I thought the Force itself was neutral?" questioned Ralem.

" **You are correct that the Force itself is neutral. Perhaps I should have explained that better, imagine the Force as a blank canvas; you have the choice to choose the path you wish to walked down, however there is always a consequence to your actions; no matter how large or small they seem to be. That is what my Son and Daughter essentially represent, the consequence of one's actions and intentions; sometimes a well-meaning intention can lead into a war and an ill-meaning intention can give birth to something grand. Do you understand?** " stated Father.

"I think so but isn't that a problem itself? What if I come across someone who challenges my belief, do I try and change that person's belief or simply let it go?" asked Ralem. Father didn't reply for a moment and Ralem could barely tell that Father was thinking incredulously about his question.

" **There are trillions upon trillions of people that live in this galaxy alone; each one with their own belief of what is Truth. You will face many of those who will oppose you emotionally, mentally, physically, and philosophically. Essentially I cannot tell you what to do because you are your own person even if you have a lot of my traits. But I will say this, if you do face someone who challenges you and you have tried everything in your power outside of torture to persuade them and they won't change, it's not worth it; just let it go.** " Father could tell by Ralem's facial expression that he was conflicted by what he said. " **I know that is something you don't like to hear my son, especially of your visions with the Rakatan's and the unholy atrocities they have committed but it was their choice and** _ **you**_ **are their consequence. Everything will find a balance eventually, but only if you are patient.** "

"I guess," sighed Ralem feeling a bit tired. "I mean I get what you are saying… I don't know maybe I'll need to meditate on that to have a better understanding." The Je'daii took a moment to breathe and clear his thoughts. "Um, I know this will sound a bit odd but could you tell me more about yourself and my siblings? Like what you like to do, your personality, things like that?"

Father looked at Ralem with a bit of confusion but nodded nonetheless. " **If that is what you wish. I suppose you would like to hear about me first; I am someone who is rather quiet, I suppose. I have a strong internal sense of duty and sometimes a dry and off-beat sense of humor.** " Father laughed quietly to himself, bringing a small smile to Ralem. " **I enjoy studying and being alone from time to time, collecting my thoughts and enjoying the silence. As with my position of bringing balance to the Force, I myself tend to lean towards laws and tradition to make sure everything is in place, which I have tried to bring to my Son and Daughter but with minute success. I also place extreme value in family and I usually put much time to running my home and family smoothly; taking very good care of my children. However the last many millennials I have discovered that I wasn't very good at expressing how I felt towards them, my wife was much better at that than I.** " Ralem could sense and see how sad his Father was becoming towards the end of his conversation. He noticed that Father's eyes had dimmed and his shoulders were hunched over. Ralem inhaled then exhaled slowly and scratched his head in nervousness, not quite sure how to handle this situation. He decided to comfort him however, getting up from his seat and sat next to Father; sitting in silence for a few moments. The Je'daii eyed Father from the corner of his eye before clearing his throat.

"Um… I may not be the best person to talk about emotions with but from what I've seen, you're a pretty nice person," complimented the Je'daii Kage. "I personally don't see how or why your children would find any reason to rebel against you. But at least you're trying to fix your mistakes with me, that has to count for something right?"

" **There's actually more to my children than you realize.** " stated Father. " **I haven't told you the entire truth; you see a million years ago my children and I came to be from a geyser on an unnamed planet. We initially lived in peace and harmony in the home we made for ourselves near the site of the geyser. I warned my children to never drink from the Font of Power, or bathe in the Pool of Knowledge; however, they eventually disobeyed my orders, with my Son drinking from the Font, giving him the power of the Dark Side, while my Daughter bathed in the Pool, bestowing her power of the Light Side. They then claimed areas of the jungle for themselves and started to fight each other, while I tried to keep the peace between them with no such luck.** "

"But you mentioned your wife earlier." said Ralem. He suddenly felt an overwhelming purge of emotion radiating from the Father, ranging from anger, sadness, and regret. The Father slowly turned his head toward Ralem's direction, staring him dead in the eye. Admittedly Ralem felt a small sense of fear twinge throughout his body but fortunately for the young Kage, the Father relaxed his glare back to normal.

" **I apologize for my reaction my son; it's just that it is a rather personal subject I wish we rather not discuss.** " apologized Father.

Ralem raised his arms in a surrender position trying to ease the tension a little. "Don't worry it is fine. I didn't know that it was a personal matter, maybe some other time it'll be fine."

Father sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. " **It's not your fault. It is mine, and that is why I hate myself; so much could have been prevented if it wasn't for me.** "

"Could you at least tell me what her name was at least?" Ralem asked cautiously. He didn't want to be on the receiving end of Father's glare again.

" **Abeloth.** " replied Father. With one single word Ralem observed the fondness in his voice when he said her name, his turquoise eyes sparkled with passion and his face lit up with joy. If that wasn't love that the Je'daii could feel then he didn't know what else it could be. However Father's eyes suddenly lost their shine and became sadden once again. Father suddenly snapped his head towards the ceiling, as though he was hearing something. " **I apologize for this but I must go.** "

"Why? What's going on?" Ralem asked. Father simply stood up from his seat, not answering his son's question. He turned towards Ralem who had just now stood up and he placed his hands on his son's shoulder.

" **As much as I would like to tell you, I can't is because you don't know what is going on. Plus you are too weak to be of any assistance to me. For now simply be concerned with your upcoming war with the Infinite Empire, I'll try to help you if I can.** " Father said. He moved his hands from Ralem's shoulder to cupping his cheeks. " **I have faith that you will do what is right. I love you my son.** " He placed a kiss on Ralem's forehead before vanishing from sight. The Yashan's heart ached as the only person besides Gra'pa that he could relate to disappeared in front of him. He shut his eyes tightly trying to prevent tears from swelling in his eyes, his hands tightening to fists for a brief moment before relaxing.

Ralem turned towards Ryujin and Byakko, just now remembering they were here the entire time. "I suppose you heard all that huh?"

" **Are you alright hatchling?** " Ryujin comforted, wanting to make sure the Yashan wasn't too troubled about what he just went through.

Ralem nodded solemnly, his eyes slightly dimmed. He rubbed his eyes. "Yeah I'll be fine. That certainly was interesting wouldn't you say?"

" **I know you're probably upset with us and I can understand that. But you have to know that we wouldn't intentionally hurt you, we grew very fond of you since the beginning.** " Byakko said. " **We were going to tell you eventually, once you were old enough… I bet you are tired of hearing that particular phrase huh?** "

A tired laugh erupted from the Je'daii Kage. "It is getting old I'll admit but perhaps ignorance is bliss in a certain light. Although I didn't get any useful information of the Son and Daughter that my Father mentioned, I don't suppose you can tell me anything about them?"

" **I think you have had enough for today, you should get some rest if you are going to create your combat form for your saber.** " commented Ryujin. " **You will require your full attention.** "

"You're probably right," said Ralem. "And thank you, for everything."

" **Ah don't go sentimental on us now Solstice.** " Byakko quipped amusingly. " **Besides it was pretty fun for the past three years I'll admit. You're a good kid and I know a good person when I see it.** "

" **That's rather amusing coming from someone like you.** " Ryujin teased. " **But I agree with him nonetheless Ralem; you have strength not just in the Force but also in character, just be mindful of yourself when you leave this planet because like the Father said there will be people out there who will try to get the better of you.** "

The praises from Ryujin and Byakko caused the Yashan to feel slightly bashful but he also felt comforted by them.

"I appreciate that thank you. Um, how do you two return back to my body?" Ralem questioned. Suddenly Ryujin and Byakko transformed into ghostly apparitions then plunged into Ralem's stomach. The Je'daii Kage jerked around for a moment, getting reacquainted with the feeling of getting back to normal. When they left his body Ralem felt a shudder of coldness reach its way through his body, but now that they returned it was a warm sensation that glowed in the pit of his stomach, though that still didn't help the odd queasy feeling that lingered.

He shuddered for a moment. "So I guess like that then. Would've been helpful with a heads up first though." Before returning back to the others, Ralem stood for a moment as he recollected his thoughts during his conversation with his Father. "That wasn't as weird as I thought it would be, he seemed pretty nice overall. And it seemed I learned somethings new about myself… And my family apparently. But I wonder how the Daughter is compared to the Son?"

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

 **Kashi**

 _Ralem found himself in a large regal room,_ _the entire wall to his right was a single large window – revealing a city wrapped in darkness yet gleaming with a myriad of lights. It was beautiful in its modern architecture. However what caught the Je'daii's attention was the presence of a blue-skinned, large-horned Chagrian wearing scarlet robes standing next to a chair. Suddenly the chair swiveled around to reveal someone, unfortunately Ralem couldn't see who it was since the shadow covered the person's face but he did identify the person as a male based on the voice._

" _Isn't it remarkable? That one can have all the power in the galaxy and yet the words of a simple child can sway the thoughts of millions!" said the unknown male standing from the chair, taking a few steps as he finished his thoughts outloud. It was an elder man with grey-white hair, possibly in his sixties if the Yashan would guess. The elder man held a face of subtle fascination and concern, staring past the Chagrian in wonderment._

" _What do you plan to do about this?" The Chagrian male questioned._

 _The elder male stared at him for a moment, collecting his thoughts. "For now we must adhere to the principles of our democracy. We must let the wheels of the Senate turn." The elderly male walked past the Chagrian, turning his head to face him. Ralem noticed a subtle smile of malicious intent tug at the elder man's lips._

A light kick towards Ralem's leg woke the Yashan from his slumber. He rubbed his eyes and stretched his limbs, trying to get rid of the drowsy effect of sleep. He turned to face the person who kicked him; a man possibly in his thirties who wore simple black armor and carried a sword and blaster hanging on each side of his belt. The man had a bored look on his face as he observed the Yashan who lazily got up from his seat on the ship.

"We finally made it to Kashi." The man replied. "And as you can guess, you're the last passenger on the ship."

"Must've overslept by accident, sorry about that." apologized Ralem.

"Don't worry about it kid, it's no big deal."

"If I may inquire, where might I find the capital of this planet?"

"It's quite a distance from this space port, possibly half a day's journey by foot."

"I see, are there any speeders that I can use?"

"Afraid not." Ralem burrowed his brow in disappoint but thanked the man for his generosity. "One more thing before you leave: You will encounter a bridge halfway to the city. I would recommend being careful since the bridge is rather wobbly and unsafe."

"I'll keep that in mind thank you and take care." Ralem waved his goodbyes to the man as he made his descent down the ramp, seeing a few stragglers outside of a small building.

'Probably the local cantina, maybe I should get some supplies before I go. 'The Je'daii thought to himself before entering. The inside of the cantina was larger than he expected, seeing about two or three dozen people; smoke filled the room bringing making everything and everyone within sight slightly blurry.

Ralem walked up to a stool near the corner end of the bar counter and waited patiently. The shouts of jovial conversation and clashing of glasses brought some sense of ease to the Yashan as he swiveled around to observe the people.

"What I can get you sweetie?" A female voice asked him from behind. Ralem turned to face a beautiful feline female; she had a lovely shade of hazel fur and dark brown hair that draped past her shoulders with matching lips. Her eyes were captivating, a rather rare eye color amber as they were red towards the top then cascaded to yellow towards the bottom. She also had a jagged scar on the corner of her right eye that went up to the side of her forehead and down to the top her cheekbone. She was very attractive, which is she noticed by Ralem's noticeable blush. Noticing her smile, Ralem lightly shook his head to rid the blush.

"Sorry about that... Um, I'll just have whatever everyone else is having." said Ralem.

"You sure? You're a little young for alcohol don't you think?" asked the feline bartender.

"I'll be fine, I'm a Yashan. I can't get drunk." explained Ralem.

The feline shrugged her shoulders. "Alright if you say so, it'll be just a moment."

"That's fine thank you." Ralem laid his head on the counter as bartender left for a brief moment. A dull clang brought the Je'daii's head back up. In front of him laid a glass filled with a dull gold colored beverage with white froth on the top. "What kind of drink is this?"

"That is Shasa ale; it's a rich alcoholic drink. Hopefully you'll enjoy it." said the bartender. "Is there anything else you need?"

The Yashan tapped against the side of his glass nervously. "No, I'm good… Actually there is one thing: There wouldn't happen to be any Rakatans setting up base here right?"

Panic rose across the bartender's face as she quickly surveyed the cantina before she leaned towards Ralem, keeping her voice low and serious. "Why are you asking that? This isn't a joking matter; they will tear anyone apart asking about them."

The Je'daii Kage gave her a knowing look. "Believe me I know, I've seen it for myself. That is why I am asking."

The conversations that emulated the room suddenly were silenced. Noting a shift in the Force, a dark shift the Je'daii noted, Ralem turned from his seat to witness a small group of Rakatans at the entrance; no more than six were in the group. Deciding it for the best Ralem turned back around and kept his head low, hopefully avoiding any unnecessary fighting. He felt the glass from his hand disappear as he looked up to see a green skinned Rakatan guzzling his drink in front of him. The Rakatan wiped his mouth after finishing and placed the glass next to Ralem, bumping his chest with his fist and belched loudly.

"Thanks for the drink pal." He complimented and patted Ralem roughly on the back, taking a seat next to the Je'daii. "Gotta tell ya, working over these maggots for hours will get you tired. But it's fun to watch them squirm in despair, it's even better." He observed the feline bartender with no attempt to hide the apparent lust in his eyes. "Well hello there beautiful, what's your name?"

The bartender also made no attempt to hide her disgust with the Rakatan. "Sorry but if you want to stay here then you'll need to order something."

The Rakatan snickered. "I think I found something to my liking." He reached over the counter and tried to grab the bartender's arm but it was pulled away before he could.

"I don't think she's part of the menu." stated Ralem, holding the Rakatan's wrist in his hand.

"Who the hell do you think you are? Unhand me now!" shouted the Rakatan. Ralem complied with the request and released him as the Rakatan stumbled back from his seat a few steps. Insulted by the young child, the Rakatan pulled his Forcesaber from his belt and activated it, encasing a purple blade. "Damn punk! Looks like you need a lesson in discipline!"

As the Rakatan attempted to cut the Je'daii with a downward strike, his blade was blocked by a black-bladed saber. The sounds of crackling as their blades clashed resonated in the air, Ralem held his saber over his head as the Rakatan's saber slowly came closer to the Je'daii's head, and Ralem could feel his right arm shaking slightly from the strength of his opponent. While Ralem was still a Yashan with compatible strength of his own, he was still only a child. However he could feel the flow of the Force strengthen his arm as he began to push back the Rakatan who began bewildered and a hint of fear shined in his eyes.

"You ok?" Ralem asked the feline bartender, keeping his eyes focused on his opponent. From the corner of his eye Ralem could see that she was confused but she nodded. "I apologize for bringing conflict to your business, once I take care of them I'll be on my way."

" 'Take care of us?' You must be arrogant as hell to think that you can take me, let alone all six of us." bragged the green Rakatan.

"I might be then again I can demonstrate to you the power I possess, but I warn you it'll be the last thing you'll see alive." warned Ralem, his tone taking a deadly air. The Rakatan didn't take too kindly to the threat and backed off, gaining some distance from the Je'daii till he was in front of his group.

"Fine by me, I have no qualms with killing a child. Hell, it'll probably be closest thing to kindness I've done today." taunted the Rakatan. "Alright men, let's kill him!"

As the Rakatan group charged towards the Je'daii, he simply stood where he was; making no attempt to defend himself, placing his saber by his side. However Ralem did raise his left hand towards them and a flash of white light emanated from it, blinding everyone in.

Six dull thuds echoed in the room as a few moments passed. Upon regaining their vision the patrons noticed the deceased corpses of the Rakatans piled neatly on top of another. They witnessed the young Je'daii holding a small communicator in his hands, examining it.

Realizing that everyone was staring at him, Ralem bowed his head. "Sorry about that, I didn't want to make a mess of the place so I used a little trick of mine simply called Force blinding, the name itself is self-explanatory. If you will excuse me I will deal with this and you all can return to your drinks."

The Je'daii used the Force levitated the corpses off the ground, making his way towards the entrance and disappeared through it. The feline bartender stared in shock before regaining her senses and chased after him. Quickly leaving the cantina, she noticed Ralem with the floating pile of corpses walking around the corner, and called after him.

"Wait!"

Ralem paused at the request, peeking his head around the corner. "Yes?"

"What? How? Why?" the feline stumbled over her own questions, too dazed and shocked to form a coherent statement.

The Je'daii retreated his head slowly back to the wall in a comical fashion, disappearing from her sight. The feline walked over towards the corner and saw Ralem making a large circle in the dirt with a slightly smaller circle within it. Within that circle were two pyramids, one upside down towards the top and one normal on the bottom both intertwined to reveal a small triangle inside. The very top of the large circle showed a fire symbol while a symbol of a salamander was on the bottom. He knelt in front of the circle and placed his hand on top of the salamander and the entire transmutation circle began to glow amber red.

Ralem began to walk away from the circle, towards the feline. Stopping right next to her, Ralem raised his right hand and snapped his fingers, causing the circle to blaze into an inferno, quickly burning the bodies to ash. The feline continued to stare in disbelief as Ralem proceeded to walk away from the sight when she called to him again.

"Who are you?" she asked.

Ralem glanced over his shoulder towards her, half of his face seen from the shadows. "My name is Ralem Solstice and I am a Je'daii, a warrior of the Force who shall bring harmony from the ashes of chaos." He snapped his fingers quickly dissipating the fire.

"A Je'daii, the Force? Are you a wizard of some kind?" the feline innocently questioned. However the Je'daii frowned upon the accusation seemingly displeased with such a title.

"I am not a wizard, and the Force itself is not magic. It is a binding power that connects to all livings; me, you, the sky, the animals, even the very planet itself," Ralem explained.

The feline nodded having a vague idea of what he was talking about but was still confused on the matter of what just happened a moment ago. "Ok so if this 'Force' is not magic then what did you just do?"

"That? I just used a bit of alchemy to burn the bodies, it was easier than to bury them. No evidence of a struggle unless one of the patrons decide to say something." Ralem said.

"Alchemy… isn't that a type of magic?" She asked. Ralem shook his head.

"Alchemy, at least from I have learned, is a type of science. I still don't know everything about it since I started learning about three years ago. But I suppose there might be magic but it's more likely one gateway of accessing the Force rather than the Force." To emphasize his point Ralem used the Force to telekinetically pick up his saber; it gently hovered in front of the feline's face for a few seconds before he reached out and placed the hilt back onto his belt. "You see?"

"That's amazing! Can anyone use the Force?" She asked.

"Yes though it does require extensive training." Ralem replied.

The feline shuffled nervously in place. "Could you teach me?"

The Je'daii eyed her for a moment, gauging to see how much potential she had. "I suppose but if you agree then it will require your full attention, which means that you won't be able to work for a while since I'm heading towards the capital for some training of my own."

The feline's face fell in disappoint, based on what she just saw back in the cantina and a few moments ago she wanted to learn those abilities. Seeing the sad look Ralem understood the choice she made, he started to walk towards his desired location.

"Oh by the way, I forgot to ask your name." Ralem half asked/half stated.

"It's Bast." She replied.

"Bast, that's a pretty name." Ralem replied, giving her a suave smile. Bast's cheeks flushed as the Je'daii continued on his journey.

 **3 hours later…**

The Yashan Je'daii halted to a stop, kicking up a large amount of dust as he observed a long wickedly old bridge. He used Force Speed to save him ample time but noticing the condition of the bridge, he decided it would be smartest to walk from here.

'This is going to be a long six hours.' contemplated the Yashan. He could only about twenty feet in front of him before it was devoured by a thick mist. Peeking over the edge of the cliff he couldn't even see the bottom as it too was covered with fog. An uneasy feeling quenched in the pit of his stomach, whether it was from the ominous feel of the mist, the old bridge, or the possible everlasting pit of death that awaited him below, or all of them he didn't know. But he put aside his uneasiness, placing his foot gently on the plank; a sharp creak rang across the barren landscape.

"Great, nothing creepy about this at all," sarcastically commented Ralem. "But on the plus side I'll probably be the only person on this bridge for a while. It'll give me time to plan on how to deal with the Rakatans in the capital, that's probably where they set up base."

Gaining more confidence Ralem slowly but surely began to walk across the bridge plank by plank, silently begging that the bridge wouldn't collapse on itself. Eventually realizing that the bridge was stronger than he anticipated, he started to relax more of his weight on it and strolled at more leisurely pace, however he still remain cautionary.

 **6 hours later…**

Ralem continued to walk down the path made for him until he noticed a faint outline of what appeared to be a city. He sighed in relief as he finally stepped off the bridge and onto the dirt ground. Sitting on the ground, Ralem rubbed his sore feet feeling the soothing pleasure of being off his feet for about 9 hours. After having his moment of recuperation he got back up and his way towards the visible gate within eyesight.

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

The city bustled with life; the people dressed in both simple and elegant robes pranced about the local market, making trades and purchases. Ralem noted that no visible Rakatan in sight but remained in the shadows, keeping his head low.

During his passings Ralem noticed in one of the shops laid an outfit hanging on the wall; it consisted of a light gray long sleeved hooded shirt with a sleeveless dark brown leather wrapping, trousers, leather calf braces, leather wrap arm bracers, a white sleeveless surcoat, and leather foot wear.

He stepped inside the shop and looked around to what else they had to offer. Outside of a few weapons and clothing, there wasn't much else to the modest shop. Ralem walked over towards the man behind the counter.

"How much are the robes for?" asked Ralem. The man, appearing to be in his mid-twenties wearing his hair in a ponytail, looked over towards the robes, estimating their worth.

"I'd say about 250 Nova crystals." answered the shop keeper.

Ralem sighed in disappointment, he really wanted those robes; they looked pretty cool. He folded his arms as he tried to think of a way to get them, tapping his fingers against his forearm. "Would you be willing to offer a trade?"

"Depends, what do you have to offer?" inquired the shop keeper. The Je'daii looked upon his person and pulled his flintlock blaster from its holster, placing it on the counter. The shop keeper inspected the blaster, checking every nook and cranny of it.

"Hmmm, this is a very nice blaster. Black with gold trim and I'm guessing the scope is customary?" the man queried.

"Yes."

"Based on the quality of the blaster, I would give you 150 crystals."

"That's it? What if I throw in the belt as well?" Ralem took his belt that carried his holster and placed it on the counter.

"I would give you 50 crystals then."

Clicking his tongue Ralem wondered what else he could give up. Unfortunately all he had left was his lightsaber and his black coral armor. Ralem knew what he had to do.

"What about the armor? How much would you give for this?" asked Ralem.

"I would need to see the entire armor, spin around for me please." the man requested. The Je'daii spun around as requested. "I could give you 100 crystals for that, it'll give you the robes you want plus 50 Nova crystals in return."

"Great, so where do I go to change?"

"Over to the far right end, there you should see a small changing room."

"Thank you." Ralem head towards the changing room and after a minute he came back fully dressed in his new robes. He carried his old armor back to the counter where he placed it. "Thanks and take care."

"Same to you."

Ralem placed his lightsaber hilt back onto his new belt and tapped it twice to make sure it would stay. He took a moment to study his new clothing, he had to admit they felt much better than the armor; it was much softer and flexible. Plus the design and coloring reminded him of the Je'daii's philosophy of balance. Ralem pulled the hood over his head and walked into the crowd, disappearing amongst them.

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

The Je'daii Kage viewed down from his perch on the edge of a snow covered cliff, seeing the prize of his objective: a castle the size of a small city. Only problem that lay before him was the small army that lay inside the entire perimeter.

The city was divided into seven one-hundred-foot high levels, each surrounded by white walls, except the first walls which had the same kind of black stone as a face. The gates connecting the levels did not lay behind one another in a line, but faced in different directions. A spur of rock, whose summit was level with the city's uppermost tier, jutted out from the front of the city in an easterly direction, dividing all but the first level into two.

Ralem placed his perception scope down as he analyzed his plan of infiltrating the castle. He had to free that castle since it would be the only way to get the Rakatans to flee, at least he hoped so. He wiped his face of the snow that was blowing onto his face.

"This is going to be harder than I thought." mused Ralem. "Well it was going to be hard anyway, but I can't take them all on, it'd be suicide to do so. But I can't apparently find any alternatives… I guess I have to take them head on, I can only pray that they want me alive."

The Je'daii leapt off the cliff, falling a great distance of one hundred meters before crashing onto the snow bank below, breaking his fall. He brushed the snow off his robes and trudged through the barren snow tundra, reminding him of his journey back on Ilum. As he trudged closer towards the castle, Ralem stopped as he observed the architecture of the castle.

Pain emanated through his shoulder suddenly as an arrow pierced through it, Ralem stumbling back from the attack. He immediately scanned his surroundings for his assailant, his hand still on his injured shoulder when a Human male wearing armor with dark short cropped hair sauntered on top of a large rock. The Je'daii Kage yanked the arrow out of his shoulder as troops of Humans and Rakatans started to surround him and dropped it onto the frozen ground.

Ralem counted at least a hundred soldiers total, based on what he could see. As he prepared for what maybe a final fight, he drew his lightsaber and activated it; he placed the blade in front of him, leading his right foot forward and waited. He listened to the soothing high pitched hum of his saber as it helped calmed his nerves.

Feeling the ground rumble grow stronger, Ralem waited until the proper time to strike.

Ralem blocked the upcoming attack on his left side with his lightsaber, retaliating with a kick to a Rakatan's stomach followed by a Force Push knocking him into a group of two dozen soldiers. He charged towards the soldiers landing a flying knee into one human soldier's face and slashed another human's chest.

Ralem whirled, dodged, ducked, attacked around his opponents on the battlefield; his form graceful but deadly, powerful yet unchecked. As each time he killed five soldiers, a dozen more would follow. The Yashan blood inside him pounded with excitement, his instincts guiding him throughout the battle. Ducking underneath the lunge of a spear, Ralem grabbed the spear from his opponent's hands and stabbed him through his chest. The ground became littered with more and more corpses as the fight dragged and Ralem started to feel weary but he continued onward.

A Rakatan caught the Je'daii off-guard and grabbed him from behind, holding him in place. A soldier charged towards the captured Yashan but he broke free of the grasp, instead striking his fellow soldier instead with his spear. Grabbing the spear, Ralem brought it towards and head butted the soldier; quickly spinning around he slashed the neck of the foolish soldier that tried to attack him with his lightsaber.

Leaping backwards to gain some distance, Ralem took several deep breaths to rest his body and mind. Charging once again, Ralem brawled against two soldiers at the same time, and their lives ended with a slit of their throats. Raising his hand, a stream of lighting hurled from his fingertips; a chain of lighting captured a dozen soldiers as they fell onto the ground. Ralem threw his lightsaber into the group and slashed through four soldiers before telekinetically guiding back to him.

During one of his quarrels Ralem noticed an odd creature walking calmly through the battle. It walked with elegance and its head held high with pride, keeping its attention on the battle weary Yashan. What puzzled Ralem was the fact that no one seemed concerned with the creature.

'Or perhaps only I can see it.' thought Ralem. 'That means it must be someone from my family, but whom though?'

Taking the opportunity of Ralem's distraction, a Rakatan tried to strike him down with his Forcesaber. Ralem barely reacted in time to block but it costed him his saber, as it was knocked out of his hands. He fell onto his back and placed his arms over his chest, a sign of surrender.

 **One hour later…**

A swift pain in the ribs had awoken Ralem from his unconsciousness. The Je'daii groaned lightly in pain as he tried to rub his pained side but discovered that he was chained to the wall. He struggled to break himself free but he was too fatigued to continue his actions for long. He sighed in defeat and quit his struggles, taking a moment to observe his new environment. From what he could tell, Ralem knew he was in some sort of dungeon, dimly lit with candles giving the room a gloomy atmosphere. Looking down on his belt, Ralem quickly noticed that his lightsaber was gone.

'Damn, where did they take it?' mused the irritated Yashan.

A shift in the Force told Ralem that he wasn't alone and he turned to the left to see the same creature that was on the battle sitting patiently, giving him that same stare as before.

"So… I'm guessing you are the Daughter then?" Ralem asked. "You don't seem to have that evil presence as the Son. What is that creature you take a form of?"

The creature stood on its four legs and walked gracefully towards Ralem. " **Yes I am the Daughter, the embodiment of the Light Side of the Force. It is in my nature to do what is selfless. My brother's will always be to do what is selfish. And my form is that of a Griffin, a creature of the sun, strength, wisdom, and salvation.** "

"Selfless huh? You didn't sound very selfless when both you and the Son tried to kill me when I was born!" seethed Ralem. His chains prevented him from moving towards the Daughter so he settled with a stern glower instead.

" **I did not seek your death, the Son did. I simply was afraid that your presence would tear our family more than it already was.** " Daughter explained.

Ralem snorted unconvinced by her explanation. "Is that a backhanded way of saying that I'm a bastard child and that I don't deserve to live?"

" **I did not say that-** "

"But that's what you thought and it's what you still believe now right? And it doesn't matter whether or not you wanted me dead, your indifference to me would have resulted in my death either way correct? Tell me what your 'wisdom' could explain otherwise." mocked Ralem. His words wounded the Daughter and deep down she knew he was right; she let her jealously get the best of her thirteen years ago. But now she was trying to fix that mistake with her brother, however her attempts were futile and she couldn't blame him for hating her.

" **I do admit that I was scared thirteen years ago, scared that we were going to be gotten rid of and forgotten, to be replaced by you but believe me when I say that I was wrong, and whether I get your forgiveness or not, I will help you and I will get you out of here.** " Daughter replied with determination. " **You are my brother, you are family, and family will always look out for each other.** "

To prove her trust to Ralem, she unlocked the cuffs that held the Je'daii. Ralem rubbed his wrists and looked at the Daughter a mix of emotions ranging from confusion, happiness, gratefulness, and relief.

"Why?" Ralem simply asked not quite sure why she let him free.

" **I can sense that you are a loyal person, deeply committed to those who have value to you. I also know that you are also a gentle person, not as in emotional but as in a rock being bashed against a wave, an anchor if you will. You have much hope inside you and you have the strength of will to make that dream come true, the galaxy will need someone like you, I guess my Father was right about you all along.** " And with that, the Daughter disappeared much in the same fashion as the Father back on Ilum.

The Je'daii gazed at where the Daughter had teleported. A slew of emotions began to arise but Ralem pressed them back down for the moment, he had bigger concerns at the moment.

"Thank you… Sister." A small crooked smile appeared as he made his towards the cell door. Peering through the door bars, Ralem could see a pair of keys dangling off the belt of an unexpecting Rakatan soldier. The Je'daii's brow furrowed, contemplating on how to get rid of the Rakatan.

Ralem whistled towards the Rakatan soldier, quickly gaining his attention. Noticing the prisoner, the guard stormed over to Ralem and slammed his fist against the door.

"Shut up you little pissant! That's enough out of you!" shouted the Rakatan. Ralem simply wiped the spit, graciously given by the guard, from his face and watched the guard head back to his post.

Ralem took a breath, let half of it out, and allowed the Force to connect him to the mind of the guard in the hall. The sensation was strange, as it always was. It was not as if he were really in two places at once, but more as if there were a part of his own mind that was somehow not quite connected, not quite accessible. A kind of muzzy feeling.

Ralem became aware that the guard's feet hurt, that he needed to visit a refresher, that he was tired of standing here holding a blaster rifle, babysitting a child when there was no way he could escape, no way-"Open the door. "

"Huh? Who's there-?"

"You must open the door."

"I...must open the door."

"You must put down your rifle and open the door now."

"You will open the door and release me."

"I… will open the door and release you."

I must...put down my rifle. Open the door now." Ralem watched the guard through the barred window. Watched him put his rifle down. Got him. A mistake. "What-?" Lost him. Concentrate, Ralem! "Open the door." Ralem put the thoughts of victory and loss out of his head. The only thing that mattered was the guard.

"Open the door." "Yes...open...the...door..." The guard's keycard slipped into the slot. The slot clicked. One of the sweetest sounds Ralem had ever heard. He didn't dwell on it. "You're very tired. You need to come in and lie on the cot and take a nice nap."

"Cot. Take a nap..." The guard moved into the cell, walked past Ralem. Ralem took the keycard from the guard's hand. He glanced out the corridor. Nobody else around. He stepped out of the cell, shut the door carefully and dropped the keycard on the floor. He looked back. The guard snored on the cot. Now this was more like it.

"Easy enough, though my sister didn't help me there though." mused Ralem to himself. However as soon as he turned, a non-corporal form of Ralem stood in front of him. He gave a small noise of surprise and gave a soft glare towards the form. "Really? You're trying to scare me at a time like this?!"

The form of Ralem giggled, taking the voice of the Daughter. " **I did say that I would help you escape, I didn't say I would do everything for you.** "

The Je'daii squinted his eyes towards her. "Right, so where do I go from here?"

" **Follow me.** " The Daughter took flight fast enough for Ralem to keep up at a sprinting pace. They ran across the multiple corridors and sneaked past the guards as they appeared to be stationed at possible corner. Eventually the Daughter led Ralem to a spacious room where a table stood and lying upon it was Ralem's lightsaber. He walked over to the table, picked the hilt of the saber and inspected it then placed back on his belt.

He turned towards the open passageway that let him outside to the blistering winds of the snow. Following the Daughter, Ralem sprinted across the passageway outside and climbed the stairs to find a small squadron of soldiers, both Human and Rakatans.

"The prisoner escaped, get him!" ordered the Rakatan. Ralem activated his saber and charged towards the soldiers, slashing through the chest of the first soldier with a lunge, slitting the neck of the second, stabbing the third in the chest, and electrocuting the fourth soldier with his Force lighting; leaving the leader of the squadron left.

The Je'daii placed the saber in a low guard stance as he flicked his left hand to push the leader off the side of building using the Force. Sheathing his lightsaber once more, Ralem continued his journey and followed the Daughter to the side of the castle. He climbed up the side of the castle brick by brick, fighting against the fierce winds and cold climate.

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

After a lengthy period of time, Ralem finally jumped to the ledge that was the top of the castle. He took a moment to rest, sitting upon the ground. The Daughter sat next to him still in her non-corporal version of Ralem.

"Thank you, for your help back there. I appreciate it." said Ralem after sitting in silence for half a minute.

The Daughter smiled and leaned over placing a kiss on the side of his side. " **You're welcome. And remember of what I said:** _**You are my brother, you are family, and family will always look out for each other**_ **.** " She disappeared once more into thin air, leaving the Je'daii alone with his thoughts.

"… Maybe Father was wrong with them, well at least with her…" Ralem contemplated this quietly for a minute before the freezing temperatures were making him uncomfortable. "I should get going now, the sooner I get rid of the Rakatans the sooner I can continue my training."

The Je'daii got up and walked around the rooftop looking for an entrance. He came to a large stained window that was orange in color; Ralem peered inside to see three people, a Human female, a Human male, and a Rakatan male. The Rakatan seemed to be eating at a table while the Humans seemed disinterested and uncomfortable.

Taking the only action left to do, Ralem leapt into the window as it splintered into thousands of pieces, and landed on the dining table, his lightsaber placed underneath the chin of the Rakatan. However he seemed calm about his life being threatened, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "You must be Ralem Solstice, they mentioned you were young but I didn't expect someone as young as you, and please have a seat."

"I rather not thank you." declined the Je'daii. "Now I will only offer you this choice: Surrender this planet to me or the Je'daii will be force to slaughter every one of your men from all the corners of the planet."

The Rakatan snickered in delight. "That would be intimidating but seeing as you were captured by my men before, what's to stop me from calling off my men?" The Rakatan lifted his hand underneath the table to reveal a holocamera, evidently recording the entire event. A loud crashing was heard and a squad of a three dozen soldiers barged into the room, dragging the Humans away from the table and surrounded him in a tight formation.

"What do you know of our ideals?" the Rakatan suddenly asked. Ralem was thrown a bit off-guard by the question, his lightsaber dropping slightly from its mark. Mentally shaking his head, Ralem held his lightsaber back to the Rakatan's throat, not willing to be deceived by him; but curiosity started to rear its head.

"You don't know do you? Our _true_ goal." The Rakatan replied, a smirk starting to spread on his face. "If you wish to know more about our cause, please have a seat."

"And why do you think I would want to listen to you or your ideals?" pressed Ralem, his eyes narrowing doubtful of anything that the Rakatan could say to make the Je'daii sway.

The Rakatan took of a sip from his chalice before speaking. " **Well for starters,** _ **Brother**_ **, is how I can tell you that your foolish ideals will be wasted for nothing**."

Crimson eyes bore into golden as Ralem's eyes widened with realization to whom he was speaking to.

"Son?" queried Ralem.

" **You are certainly clever aren't you? You need not worry; Father has forbid me from trying to kill you like last time. However that doesn't mean I can't make your life miserable in other ways.** "

"Oh joyful." remarked Ralem with a tone of displeasure. "So what did you have in mind for our little session here?" The Son pushed Ralem back into a chair on the opposite end of the table, Ralem himself nearly tipping the chair over from the momentum and power of the Son. Ralem propped himself into place and made himself comfortable, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Now that's a fine way of treating your _brother_."

A massive wave of bright lights washed over Ralem, knowing well that he hit a nerve from the Son. He covered his eyes from the brightness. But more importantly Ralem felt the overwhelming mass of power radiating from him, however brief it was. It was pure raw power, dwarfing the Je'daii in comparison of a planet to an ant. He felt almost crushed from the sheer magnitude, Ralem made a note to himself to mind his wording towards the Son, just in case he tried to break his Father's command. As the light dimmed, the body of the Rakatan disappeared and replaced by a ghostly white imitation of Ralem sitting presently in the chair, blood crimson eyes stared into the Je'daii's own.

" **I would advise to keep your tongue shut,** _ **Brother**_ **. Father may have said that I am not allowed to kill you directly, but he never implied that I can't beat you to a bloody pulp.** " threatened the Son. " **Do I make myself clear? You are tampering with powers far beyond your comprehension, but need not worry; I am here to enlighten you.** "

Ralem shifted in his seat, uncomfortable with the Son's words but tried to keep a strong façade. "I see so why the sudden change of heart?"

" **Because I want to see the look of despair on your face, the realization that everything you love and worked so hard to accomplish is nothing more than a foolish dream. Only I and the Dark Side are the natural remedy to a galaxy that is falling increasingly into a state of anarchy and chaos. I firmly believe that the power of the Dark Side is capable of forging a new and everlasting era of order and tranquility. That is Truth.** "

The Je'daii tapped his finger against the table, racking his brain around the words of the Son. He peered around his chair and noticed that the Rakatan soldiers were still in the room and holding the two Humans captured. Wanting to be left alone with the Son for a while, Ralem carefully used the Force to trick them into leaving the room, also wiping their memories of what happened.

"I'm guessing you're talking about fear, right?" stated Ralem.

" **Of course even the smallest drop of fear is capable of controlling millions of people, whether that fear is real or not.** " explained the Son. He paused for a moment as he observed the Rakatan soldiers leaving the room. " **Even the most peaceful of governments use fear to get their ways. For example, 'If you don't your way of life taken away by an uprising or war, then you must listen to us!' It's simple but effective.** "

"Bu you can't always manipulate people with fear, they will eventually overcome that fear if necessary."

" **And then they will die. Fear is the reason why everything in this galaxy grows and keeps everyone alive, for without fear everything would end in an instant; no concern for their own safety or of their loved ones from making foolish mistakes. Before I leave I relay one final pearl of wisdom for you to think about; if you win this war against the Infinite Empire, how long do you think your Je'daii Order will last before everyone in the galaxy fears them?** " Black smoke rose from where the Son once sat and disappeared, leaving the Rakatan himself dazed and rubbing his head.

"What the hell was-" The Rakatan's voice clenched as invisible finger's gripped around his throat. He was lifted from his chair, his legs kicking around hopelessly as Ralem contemplated the words of the Son. He wasn't sure if he should believe anything that the Son told him during their conversation, but it made sense.

"Maybe fear isn't totally bad and perhaps it does have a certain role in our lives, but fear can't be the answer to everything." Ralem muttered to himself. He glanced up towards the Rakatan to which he was still choking, granting a bit of mercy Ralem snapped the neck of the Rakatan and he fell onto the table with a loud thud before rolling onto the floor. Ralem leaned his head against his hand, staring at the body. "Still, he does have a point. Fear can be a very powerful force but it can be used for a good cause, it just needs balance. But how can one balance fear?"

The Je'daii stood from his chair, halting his thoughts for the moment. "Maybe just apply fear every now and again, the rest will take care of itself I suppose." He reached for his lightsaber and activated it, hearing the high-pitched hum in his ears. "For now I need to get rid of these Rakatans then I can meditate on this matter. Who knew finding balance would be so hard? But first I need to find those two Humans, based on their robes they probably are royalty."

Following the trail where the soldiers left, Ralem peered around the corner and found a dismal sight; a group of five to ten Rakatans surrounded two large tube-like machines, the male and female Human were in each individual tube. Ralem noticed that the machines were hooked up to a console where one Rakatan soldier was overlooking one of the many monitors on it.

"Vital signs are well, now we shall commence with our experiment." ordered the Rakatan by the monitors.

"Is this how you treat us?! We allow you onto our planet, take control of it, teach us about the Force and then you kill us?" shouted the Human male. Ralem identified him as the same male that ordered the attack on him outside of the castle. He then looked over to the female, possibly his wife; she was beautiful with obsidian short shoulder length hair and golden eye, much like his own. A bit surprised by this unique discovery, Ralem focused his attention back to the situation; he had to find a way to free them. If he charged blindly then they would activate the machine, resulting in possible death for them. He decided on a more stealth approach.

A scream of agony reverberated across the chamber as the machine activated, electrocuting the man. His body gyrated from the torment and thrashed against the glass tube, yelling in pain. The man's wife screamed in fear for her loved one, banging her head against the glass.

"You bastards! Stop it now!" She screamed in rage, tears of helplessness cascaded down her face.

Crouching low to the ground, the Je'daii crept over to the unsuspecting Rakatan by the console and wrapped his left hand around his mouth and wrapped his right arm around his neck, muffling the sounds of shouting as the Rakatan sauntered off into the abyss of death. Gently laying his body on the ground, Ralem peered over the console noticing the busy Rakatans at work. He tried to figure out the controls but it was textured in what was possibly their language.

'A little bit of Force Lighting should handle this.' reasoned Ralem. Blue lighting shot out from his hands and the console exploded from the overload of power, black smoke enveloped around the Yashan. Ralem coughed hoarsely and felt his eyes water from the awful smell of burnt metal. He used pushed the smoke towards the Rakatans, their cries of confusion providing opportunity for him to attack silently and quickly.

After disposing with the Rakatan corpses, Ralem augmented his leg strength with the Force to kick the foot and a half thick glass tube and freed the female inside. He grabbed her as she fell over before pushing him off to run over towards the tube containing her husband.

"Xendor! Xendor wake up please!" She pleaded banging her fist against the glass. Xendor didn't reply as light traces of smoke rose from his body. Ralem gently moved the despaired woman out of the way and cut through the glass with his lightsaber, carefully dragging the body out of the container and onto the floor.

She crawled over to the body, placing his head onto her lap and stroked his lukewarm cheek. "I told you this would happen Xen, that they would try to kill us eventually."

Ralem observed the distraught woman with a small look of pain, feeling guilty of waiting too long to act.

He turned to leave her to her grieving when she called to him. "So you're the Je'daii that they talked about right?"

Ralem paused in midstride. "I am."

"I didn't believe them when they said that a child killed some of their best soldiers, to be honest I still don't but after today, I don't know what to believe anymore."

The pained reflection in her voice didn't ease the small guilt that started to grow in him but Ralem had to remain strong, for the both of them.

"I didn't mean for anyone to die today. I only wanted to help." responded Ralem. "I'm very sorry for your lost, I am. I too know what it is like to have a loved one taken from me." He turned towards her, her face expressing tearful remorse. "And I know this isn't the best time to ask but I need your help to fend off these Rakatans from your planet. You are now the sole leader of this planet now and your people need you. I'll help in any way you need it, I am in your service. Consider it a repayment for failing to save your husband's life."

The woman shook her head, a sad smile appearing instead. "No, this is not your fault. This was ours; we were foolish enough to believe that the Rakatans were going to help us, even though they did help us set everything in order across the planet."

"Are there any more Rakatans on the planet or are all the Rakatans here?" inquired Ralem.

"They're spread across the planet; luckily it's only a small number since they originally didn't want to use this planet." The woman explained.

Ralem nodded, grateful for the useful tidbit knowing that his job was a lot easier now. "You might want to return to your chambers where it's safer, I'm going to get rid of the Rakatans that have infested your castle, and it may take me a while to do so."

"That will not be necessary, my army is at your command." said the woman. "Just get rid of them."

"I will, but you will have to order your troops not to shoot at me and tell what is happening here," ordered Ralem. "I didn't catch your name by the way."

She offered a small smile to the Je'daii. "My name is Arden Lyn."

 **1 month later…**

The young Je'daii stretched his limbs on the bed, the rays of the morning sun poking at his face. He turned to his side to the golden eyes of his lover Arden Lyn, those eyes holding simple tenderness in them. She cupped his cheeks and placed a loving kiss on his lips.

"Morning cutie, feeling good after our love session?" Arden smiled proudly knowing full well the answer. After their meeting a month, Ralem and Arden travelled across the planet killing off any Rakatan that still remained. During that time Ralem told her a little about himself and the Je'daii Order and likewise with Arden, telling him about how her romance with Xendor. They became friends rather quickly during that time, which naturally blossomed to a romantic tension. When she confronted Ralem on the matter of the growing relation between them, Ralem confessed his relationships with Cortana, Lanoree, and Kora; Arden naturally was slightly hurt by the confession but once Ralem confessed to his own developing feelings, he asked if she wanted to pursue a more romantic relationship.

She wanted to say yes but she took a mature approach and told him that she would have to think about it. Fully understand her point of view, given her deceased husband still possibly fresh in her mind, Ralem agreed with her decision not wanting to force her decision in any manner.

One night when the young Je'daii was getting ready for bed, Arden walked into his room and embraced him into a kiss. Her tongue massaging his own, her hands prying his clothing off and rubbed against his muscular chest. The two eventually fell onto the bed where they continued with their ministrations to which eventually lead to powerful release of lust and love deep into the night, letting their bodies know that they had started their love together.

"I'm doing wonderful." affirmed the tired Je'daii. "Especially after seeing your face gracing me with its beauty."

"That's so lame," teased Arden, playfully hitting Ralem's face with a face. A small blush tinted her cheeks form the compliment. "But that's sweet, thank you."

Ralem took the pillow off his face, his expression holding a lighthearted glare. "This is what I get for expressing my heart to someone that I love? The words that could make an angel weep from just hearing them? I'm hurt." His face turned towards a feigned hurt expression as he folded his arms comically and turned to his other side, his back towards Arden. She rolled her eyes as she decided to play his little 'game'.

"Oh of course, how could I possibly miss such brilliance of a poet like you?" Arden assured. She wrapped her arms across Ralem's midsection, pulling him closer to her and pressed her frim naked breasts to his back. "Any girl would have to be a fool to ignore your stimulating and deep insight of the female mind."

"You know you're really bad at this." jabbed Ralem.

"Look who's talking." prodded Arden.

Ralem turned his head and kissed Arden tenderly. "Fair enough, but we should get up now. I'm pretty sure you don't want to stay in bed with me."

"Hmm I don't know it's a tempting idea." argued Arden. Ralem rolled out of her warm embrace and started to put on his robes as Arden merely watched.

"While that may be true, I still have to create my lightsaber combat form and have yet started on the basis for it." explained Ralem. "Besides I have to contact the other Grand Temple Masters and let check on their progress, and like I said I'm behind schedule as it is."

Arden pouted in disappointment but she knew he was right. She threw the light covers off her body to reveal her nude body. Ralem nearly fumbled putting his belt on when he noticed her, she was teasing him. She ran her hands across her body, erotically massaging her breasts, and gently rubbed her clit. His erection started to rise from his pants and he forced himself to stay focused. He walked over to her and gently bit on her nipple causing Arden to moan erotically, running her hands through his spiky brown hair keeping him in place.

Ralem gently pushed away from her, kissing her on her succulent lips. "Nice try, but not now. I promise we will later though, once everything is set."

 **A few minutes later…**

Nine blue-tinted holograms encasing the Grand Temple masters and Cortana sat in a half circle around Ralem and Arden, who had moved to her office chambers for the meeting. Arden sat on his lap with Ralem sitting behind her desk, watching the holograms.

"I take it things are going well." stated Ralem. "Have any problems with the Rakatans on your respective planets?"

"None so far I can guess most of us won't be having too much trouble with them, if any at all. Most of the galaxy is still in its infancy regarding its knowledge, plus the lack of sufficient technology to travel across the galaxy quickly will force the Rakatans to keep their operations closer to the Core." informed Quan-Jang. "Unless they conquer the Kwas on Dathomir and steal their Infinite Gate technology, which then they theoretically create a type of drive for their ships to increase their capabilities to an immense degree."

"We obviously can't let that happen," commented Kora. "But that last sentence you mention does show promising potential, if we were able to harness that type of technology for our own ships then we can stay one step ahead of the Infinite Empire."

"While that's a very intriguing idea, you forgot the two biggest problems: the pirates and the lack of a proper passageway for our ships to travel across. If we are able to harness the power of the Infinity Gates for our ships, and we use it, what's to stop us from still crashing into an asteroid field or falling into a black hole? The same problem is still there as before, nothing's changed." reminded Hawk Ryo.

The Je'daii stroked his chin, debating on his thoughts. "Cortana, how long do you think it would take to create a type of propulsion system that utilizes the core of the Infinity Gates?"

"I can't give a solid answer; the problem still lies within our technology. Even with my programming it could take decades to create a system that complex. But my calculations do confirm that if created, this 'hyperdrive' can traverse a ship faster-than-light." Cortana explained.

"How much faster than light?" inquired Madog.

"I don't know, I will have to start creating the hyperdrive to find out." responded Cortana.

"Is there any place in the galaxy that could have the technology to create a 'hyperdrive'?" wondered Lanoree.

"The only place that could theoretically it would have to be Coruscant." replied Cortana. "Fortunately it's very close to Tython, almost on the border between the Deep Core and the Inner Rim."

"Very good, very good," stated Ralem in relief. "However in conjunction with what Quan-Jang said, the Rakatans will eventually head over to Coruscant and conquer it, we must not allow that to happen. Who is the closest to Coruscant?"

"What planet are you on?" asked Cortana. "That way from there I can calculate the distance from wherever you are to Dathomir, where you can use the Infinity Gates to travel back to Tython then you can get to Coruscant within a day, twelve hours tops."

Ralem nodded in agreement, it was a good idea in his opinion; short and simple. "I'm on a planet called Kashi in a system named Kashi Mer, in the Corva Sector, right?" He looked towards Arden to be sure he got the last part correct, to which she nodded approvingly.

Cortana's eyes glowed as she accessed her database. "Hmm I can't seem to find it here, maybe I can triangulate its position, are there any planets around your area?"

"Yes, it's in the middle of three planets: Bosph, Ventooine, and Neelgaimon." Arden Lyn answered.

Cortana quickly analyzed the new data. "Found it…. It seems, based on the trajectory, that Kashi is about 7 months from Dathomir, so unless you want to make that kind of trip, I wouldn't recommend it."

Ralem contemplated his decision, it was his duty as the Kage of the Je'daii Order to be the face and diplomat but he still had to create a combat form not only for himself but for the other Je'daii as well. Though now that he thought about it, there were eight Je'daii Grand Temple masters that were developing their own styles so most of the work would already be done by the time he finished his business on Coruscant.

"I'll begin preparations to leave for Coruscant, I'll contact you once I reach Tython." Ralem declared. "For now those who are close to Dathomir will keep a close eye on it in case of Rakatan invaders while training with your new lightsaber combat forms." He drummed his fingers across the table wondering if he forgot anything. "And that's about it I guess, you can go back to your training."

All but three of the holograms disappeared, leaving Lanoree, Kora, and Cortana left in the room.

"I don't think we had a proper introduction…" Lanoree started waiting for the mysterious woman to state her name.

"My name is Arden Lyn, Queen of Kashi. So you must be Lanoree, Ralem told me so much about you; all of you actually." said Arden.

"Really?" Lanoree asked, turning her head towards Ralem's direction. "Have you two _gotten together_?"

Arden smiled deviously. "You can say that, and it was blissful!" She kissed Ralem squarely on the lips to prove her point.

"You certainly are a charmer aren't you?" teased Cortana.

Ralem innocently shrugged his shoulders, playing coy. "I have no idea what you mean; I'm just being myself is all."

"Right." chimed Kora giving the Yashan a knowing smile. "Anyway contact back with us once you land on Tython and Coruscant alright?" Ralem nodded.

"And Arden was it?" Cortana asked. "Don't hurt him, or I can't promise the same to you." After the sudden threat Cortana, Lanoree, and Kora terminated their holograms.

"Well that was… sudden." commented Arden, a little uncomfortable about what just happened.

"Yeah I got to admit, I wasn't totally expecting that from Cortana of all people, Lanoree probably, but they mean well. We've been together for about three years now so I guess that's natural to be protective of your loved ones." said Ralem. "So I'm guessing we'll be taking your ship then right? I just hopped on random ship to get here, and I doubt you want to take that same kind of transportation, being royalty and all."

Arden smiled, placing another kiss to Ralem. "I do have a prototype ship that my engineers have been working on, it's nothing too special but it'll definitely make our trip much more comfortable."

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

 **Kashi spaceport**

A massive ship stood majestically in the space port, towering everything in sight. The corvette had a smooth hull, and was propelled by two circular engines. The cockpit rested in a hammerhead-style outcropping horizontally. As the Je'daii Kage stared in awe of its beauty, Arden Lyn smiled amusingly from his stunned face.

"I'm glad you enjoy good taste Solstice," she said. "I had this _Defender-class_ light corvettespecifically designed by the Rendili Vehicle Corporation the last time I was on Coruscant. It's seventy one meters in length and ninety four meters in width; it's armed with twin laser cannons and concussion missile launchers if you're ever in a heated battle. It can complement speeders and hold a crew of eight."

Ralem whistled, impressed by the barrage of information explained to him. "Let's take a look inside shall we?"

Upon entering the _Defender-class_ corvette, he noticed that the interior was laid out in two decks.

"The upper level contains the ship's bridge, the primary conference room, a smaller secondary conference room, and living accommodations for the ship's crew as well as a single escape pod," explained Arden. "The bridge can be manned by a maximum of eight crew members or a minimum of one, and the ship's holographic navicomputer is situated in the center of the bridge for easy access and visibility. The smaller conference room and the living chambers are located on either side of the bridge, and the central chamber provides access to the lower level, escape pod, and the other rooms of the upper level. The conference room itself is equipped with the ship's primary holocomm system, the centerpiece of the spacious room. The second level is laid out in four rooms: a medical bay, a cargo hold, engine room, and a central access chamber. This _Defender-class_ corvette also features a C2-N2 factotum droid, which serves as the vessel's steward and ensures that the ship remained in good condition."

"Ok I'm with you. I gotta admit this is really nice," complimented Ralem. He started to walk up towards the bridge, taking notice of everything around him. "You could make a home for yourself here, maybe start a family. You certainly made a good investment on your ship."

" _Your_ ship actually." Arden said. Ralem frowned in confusion as he turned around to face her, not quite sure if he heard her right. "Consider this a thank you gift from my people and me for freeing our planet from the Rakatans."

He was flattered by the gesture but he felt slightly guilty for taking her ship. "I appreciate the gift, I do, but I can't accept it."

"And why not?" Arden demanded, hurt by her lover's rejection.

"It's not that I don't want it, it's just that-"He paused mid-sentence, trying to explain how he felt but to no success. He sighed in defeat and threw his hands in the air. "I don't know why, I guess I don't want to take payments for doing good deeds… I don't know." He looked away from her as he stared at the wall, feeling a small amount of guilt for hurting her feelings. Warm arms embraced his chest as Arden hugged him from behind, her obsidian hair tickling the back of his neck.

"There's nothing wrong with accepting gifts after doing something good for someone," said Arden. "Just enjoy the fruits of your labor every now and then." Ralem rubbed his hand against hers absentmindedly, feeling the softness of her skin.

"Perhaps you're right, all work and no play can make a person dull," quipped Ralem turning around to face her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"I agree, so how about we have a little fun of our own?" Arden suggested lustfully, playfully tugging at the Je'daii's bottom lip with her teeth. He pulled back from her grasp, smirking in kind.

"Sounds perfect." Ralem snared her into a passionate kiss, roaming his hands across her body. Arden likewise began to disrobe her lover, slowly making their way down the bridge for a blissful and passionate event.

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

 **Coruscant, 7 months later…**

As the _Defender-class_ corvette descended onto the landing dock below, the heavy thud alerted its passengers inside. As the ramp opened the Queen of Kashi strolled gracefully with regal flair, her face showing determination in a woman so young but passionate as well. She waited for her young lover to finish with his business back on the ship, and after many minutes the soft footsteps of the Je'daii were heard.

"Just finished communicating with the Council, luckily they're doing fine. They should be arriving on Coruscant soon, possibly a few days at the most." stated Ralem. He viewed the passing by of ships and speeders, trailing over them with tremendous speeds. The skyscrapers reached towards the heavens, only wishing for a simple touch of its majesty. "This is a beautiful city."

"I know, it's perhaps my favorite planet in the entire galaxy; the music, the food, the culture, the people, the art, everything about it is perfect!" exclaimed Arden. He noticed the child-like wonder on her face; her beautiful golden eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. He couldn't help but smile in kind; if she was happy then he was happy.

"Being royalty and all, I would be correct in guessing that you have some kind of suite here?" implored the curious Je'daii.

"Of course but after spending nearly seven months inside that ship, I want to spread my legs and see the sights again. Oh! I know a great quiet spot around here; the music is delightful and the food is splendid!" beamed Arden.

Ralem chuckled at her enthusiasm. "Alright but you're paying, I'm flat broke."

Arden eyed him lustfully. "Oh I think I know a way for you to repay me." She slinked her hand across his crotch and rubbed against it, the Yashan immediately realizing her intent. He smiled and placed a soft kiss to her lips, holding out his arm in a gentlemanly manner for Arden to lock her arms with. "My, my aren't you the gentleman."

Ralem squinted his face comically, "I'm full of surprises." Arden laughed softly as she rested her head against his shoulders, making their way to the desired location.

Two masked figures overlooked the lovers from a nearby balcony.

" _Mie mir ya olyay jie ad'ika? Ra sra'a suly ja o' turyr beyisr. Ka ta'gr kotyc kitiyilyr o'ardir o' rid._ " remarked the first masked figure calmly. He stood an imposing stature of 6'5 and wore simply brown leather armor, leather wrist protectors and metallic shoulder guards; his gray skin largely left exposed across his body.

The second masked stood smaller at 5'8 holding a feminine but athletic build, wearing complete body armor. She stared at the Je'daii below with look of longing. "It seems that my baby boy as returned to me."

 **A/N: Sorry for the late update, I'm currently in Kentucky and will be taking care of my great grandmother for these 3 upcoming weeks so I wasn't able to write for a while, until now anyway. About the update schedule from the last chapter just ignore that, the new update schedule will be between 2 weeks and a month. The reason for this is because the upcoming chapters will be longer, possibly up to 15k per chapter at the most, so it'll take me a while to write them out lol.**

 _ **Mie mir ya olyay jie ad'ika? Ra sra'a suly ja o' turyr beyisr.**_ _**Ka ta'gr kotyc kitiyilyr o'ardir o' rid. :**_ _**So this is your son? He does take after you in a lot ways I sense a strong warrior presence within him. (Translation)**_

 **I have closed the poll regarding how powerful Ralem Solstice should be once he enters the Clone Wars era and here are the results:**

 **Grand Master Luke Skywalker- 11**

 **Yoda- 4**

 **Sidious- 3**

 **I want to thank those who have voted in this poll, it means a lot.**

 **Now I have a new poll that is on my profile page; 'For the Rise of the Je'daii Empire story, should Ralem Solstice be the Chosen One?' If you would be so kind please take a moment and vote, or you can leave a review with your suggestion that would be fine as well.**

 **I have a very important question I would like to ask my readers; given the conflict between the Je'daii and the Rakatans/Infinite Empire that I have foreshadowed for some time now, would you like to see the actual war fought between the two or would you like for me to jump towards the Clone Wars. If you choose to see the Je'daii and Rakatan war, I shall cover maybe 3-4 chapters' worth. If you choose the Clone Wars then it will only be 2-3 chapters until then. Please leave a comment, it will be a huge help for me.**

 **As I have mentioned in the previous chapters, I am basing the Je'daii, Jedi, and Sith more on their counterparts from the Clone Wars Microseries and from Naruto. Below I have complied a list featuring both Naruto and Star Wars characters so that you can see the comparison between both and have a better idea about my power scaling (I will use this power scaling for my future Star Wars stories). Also I got my information from a website called Vs Battle Wiki. I'll keep the list up for the rest of the story so it can be easier once the Clone Wars actually start to compare.**

 **Power Scaling-**

 **Star to Star+ level:**

Father

Abeloth

 **Planet to Planet+ level:**

Grand Master Luke Skywalker

Ralem Kyo Solstice (potentially; potentially higher to Star level)

Son

Daughter

 **Moon to Moon+ level:**

Darth Sidious

Sith Emperor

Hagoromo Otsutsuki

Kaguya Otsutsuki

Naruto Uzumaki* _(Overpowered Toneri's attack that cut the moon in half, without fighting at full power, due to that he had to release Kurama to fight against Hamura's statue. Assumed to be at least as powerful as Madara)_

Sasuke Uchiha* (with Indra's Arrow)

Madara Uchiha* (via Chibaku Tensei)

 **Continent to Continent+ level:**

Yoda

Mace Windu

Darth Bane

Revan

Darth Nihilus

Darth Malak

Darth Plageuis

Toneri Otsutsuki

 **Country to Country+ level:**

Starkiller/Galen Marek

Ajunta Pall

Darth Vader

Obito Uchiha

Might Guy (8 Gates open)

Kakashi Hatake (with Obito's dual Sharingan)

 **Island to Island+ level:**

Anakin Skywalker (noted as Small Island+; potentially Country)

Count Dooku

Darth Maul

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Hashirama Senju

Minato Namikaze

Nagato Uzumaki (via Chibaku Tensei)

 **City to City+ level:**

Itachi Uchiha

Rock Lee

Gaara

Hinata Hyuuga

Jiraiya (Small City)

Orochimaru (at least equal to Jiraiya)

 **Town to Town+ level:**

Tsunade

 **City Block to City Block+ level:**

Konan (Town+ to Small Island with preparation)

Ahsoka Tano

Barriss Offee

Sasori

Sakura Haruno (stated to be Tsunade's equal in The Last movie)

 ***Naruto, Sasuke, and Madara are otherwise Continent to Continent+ level in Base form**


	6. Twilight of the Republic

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything pertaining to the Star Wars franchise; all rights are acquired to Disney. The only things I own are my OC's Ralem Solstice.**

 **"Speaking"**

 **'Thoughts'**

 **'Telepathic'**

 **Ralem's Collective:**

Ahsoka Tano

Asajj Ventress

Padme Amidala

Riyo Chuchi

Sabren Wren

Satele Shan

Shae Vizla

Adi Gallia

Shaak Ti

Aayla Secura

Luminara Unduli

Barriss Offee

Tiplee

Tiplar

Bo-Katan Kryze

Duchess Satine

Miraj Scintel

Darth Talon

Kora

Lanoree Brock

Cortana

Steele Gerrea

Marasiah Fel

The Daughter

Mina Bonteri

Hera

Jarael

Deliah Blue

Jaina Solo

Mara Jade

Savan

Vaylin

Senya Tirall

Queen Julia

Sola Naberrie

Breha Organa

Fem Revan

Meetra Surik

Trill

Sylvar

Celeste Mourne

Githany

Keelyvine Reus

Nadia Grell

Akaavi Spar

Jaesa Willsaam

Ashara Zavros

Kaliyo Djannis

Raina Temple

Darth Zannah

Visas Marr

Brianna

Artis

Raskta Lsu

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

 **5 days later…**

Golden energy surrounded Ralem who meditated on the balcony of Arden Lyn's residence. The bustling of the city serenaded him, calmness enveloped him as his thoughts drifted. The past few days had been interesting to say the least. Ralem traveled across Coruscant, watching the people go about their days in the slum of the underlevels; crime running amuck, thefts on a daily occurrence, and even murder. He had heard gossip about the two big crime syndicates in Coruscant: Xim the Despot, notorious Pirate-King with his burgeoning empire in the Tion Cluster, and the Hutt Empire, led by the self-proclaimed ruler Kossak Inijic Ar'durv.

Not really gossip anymore considering the clashes of the two gangs causing collateral damage on immense scales, eventually causing the Je'daii Kage to intervene subtly. But stories of his actions spread swiftly across the people of Coruscant, stories of hope and peace. He sighed as warm arms encircled his abdomen and two warm orbs firmly placed on his back.

"What's wrong?" Arden asked.

Ralem smiled softly. "Just thinking, as usual you know."

Arden purred as she placed her head on his shoulder. He could smell her enticing scent, that of jasmine and a subtle aroma of spice. He took her hand and brought it to his lips, feeling her soft skin on his own and rubbed her knuckles with his thumb.

"You've been thinking and mediating for the last two days, I was starting to get a little worried."

Ralem laughed quietly, appreciative of her concerns for him. "Ugh I know, there's just so much to do."

Arden hummed in understanding and slid her hands sensually up his body to his spiky golden hair, gently massaging his scalp. "That is why you have the Council; to ease those burdens on yourself. You can't handle everything yourself, even with your immense power, you won't be able to function properly when the time comes."

The Yashan's eyes fluttered open and shut, a sense of fatigue enveloping him. "You sound a lot like Kora."

"Well then at least you have one smart woman lying in your bed."

Ralem turned his head over his shoulder, giving her a grim gaze. "What does that suppose to mean?"

"Nothing, I just misspoke was all."

Ralem eyed her cautiously before redirecting his gaze back to the city. "Is there a place on Coruscant where leaders of their systems come together and meet?"

Arden pursed her lips in thought. "Not really, we usually just meet each other in public or within the confines of our homes, why?"

"Just thinking. Perhaps if there was an alliance of representatives from planets, sectors and systems joining together then we could have a better shot at defeating the Rakatans."

"Isn't that what you're trying to do anyway? By the sound of it, it seems like your trying to create a representative democracy, but I'm not sure that is the best decision."

"Why not?" implored Ralem.

"Besides the fact that you are in relations with a queen, Democracy has a lot of flaws to its design; one of which is that it's a government of the people." explained Arden.

"I fail to understand your reasoning."

"What I'm saying is that when society changes, people change. What people wanted twenty years ago will be different hundred years later, even a year later at the earliest. It's a never ending argument about what's right and what's wrong instead of what really matters; just a group of people disillusioned with narcissistic tendencies and god-like complexes." Arden further explained. "Let's put like this: Democracy is like raging tsunami, starts off small but given enough time it will destroy everything in its path. Whereas with the Force and for example monarchy, it's constant and never changing. Does that make sense?"

Ralem nodded. "I believe so but there has to be some benefits to a democracy right? It can't be all that bad. And with a monarchy, weren't there be a time of a terrible ruler who will abuse his subjects?"

Arden merely shrugged her shoulders. "I suppose but the cons of democracy outway its pros. I'm not saying monarchies are perfect but in the long run, they are lowest of evils in politics. It's easier to blame one bad ruler instead of a thousand lying Senators. There is an important rule I learned in politics- All those who gain power seek to keep it at any cost. Same applies to any form of government from democracy to a monarchy."

"So I shouldn't go with my initial plan then?"

"The plan is fine but I don't believe you need an entire government body to achieve that goal. Creating a government isn't easy nor do you have the time. Just come into contact with the leaders of those systems and earn their trust in person, you can be charismatic when you wish to be." said Arden. "Besides if you think about, your title as the Je'daii Kage is much closer to a king or an emperor."

The Yashan placed his hands underneath his chin as he pondered on his lover's advice. From what he learned of politics back on her homeworld and on the way to Coruscant, he had a fair knowledge of it. But he always enjoyed hearing Arden talk about it anyway, her voice soothing and emboldened.

"So essentially you want me to create a Confederacy?"

Arden reached around Ralem and grasped his hands into hers. "Basically, you get to have your alliance plus everyone has their own power in the end. The same can't be said about democracy, it's a temporary threshold that will corrupt itself to an Empire."

The Je'daii Kage gave an amusing hum that reverberated in his throat. "I guess, you seem really adamant about not choosing a democracy. I guess your little lesson about power seems to be true."

"Like you would give your title as the Je'daii Kage so willingly." Arden retorted in kind, partly teasing and partly serious.

The golden fire that surrounded Ralem died down, returning the Yashan to his base form. "More than likely everyone would guilt trip me back to the Kage title if I tried stepping down. But I see your point. Is there anyone you know that I can talk to?"

"I know several, in fact one is an old family friend of mine, Senator Organa. Better news is that I am having a lunch date with him in a few hours, you can come along if you wish." offered Arden.

Ralem nodded in agreement, he needed people on his side. Now would be the best chance to get a headstart. "A lunch date huh?"

Arden snaked her arms around Ralem's neck, a sly smile on her face. "Is that a problem? You're not jealous are you?" She leaned forward, sticking her tongue out and licked his lips sensually then sucking on his bottom lip.

Ralem's knees wobbled a little as a wave of lust started to overflow his senses but quickly focused back on the conversation.

"You would like that wouldn't you? Unfortunately for you, you know I'm not someone who's easily fooled or easily jealous. Besides I've never seen the man, he could be old and wrinkly for all I know and I doubt you go for someone like that." countered Ralem.

Arden pouted cutely and feigned hurt. "So you think me shallow then? Only concerned with the physical beauty of a man and not the emotional connection of my partner? You wound me deeply."

The Je'daii rolled his eyes at her melodramatics and smiled at her antics. "Alright, alright I'm sorry, am I forgiven?"

"Maybe, only if you do me one favor." offered Arden.

Ralem raised an inquisitive brow, curious to see what she had planned. "Oh? And what would that be?"

She leaned into his ear and made her request. The Je'daii's eyes widened in shock as Arden rubbed her breasts against his chest, a deep crimson blush staining his face.

"That is dirty...Though I'd be lying if I said I wasn't willing to try it. I guess we can do that to pass the time for a few hours, though I don't know if you're that flexible." The Yashan wrapped his arms around Arden's waist and ensnared her into a lustful kiss. The Queen of Kashmir returned the kiss with eager passion and started to undress the young Je'daii when the sound of someone clearing their throat was heard.

Snapping out of their lust filled passion, the two lovers turned to see Lanoree, Cortana, Kora and the rest of the Je'daii Council waiting patiently at the entrance. Pushing Arden back a little to give him some breath room, his arms still latched around her waist, greeted his fellow Je'daii.

"Welcome to our little abode." happily replied Ralem, waving his fellow members inside. "I'm glad you finally made it, we have much to discuss." He strolled over and kissed Lanoree, Kora, and Cortana, hugged Gra'pa and escorted all of them to the large stylized crescent-shaped couch in the middle of the spacious apartment. Taking a seat in the middle of the couch, Ralem watched as the women sat close to him while everyone else sat towards the edge.

"Seven months and five days have passed since we've interacted face to face with one another." started Ralem. "I must say it's great to see everyone again."

"As much it is nice to be reacquainted with everyone again young Solstice, I'm afraid we must get back to business." informed Gra'pa. The Yashan leaned back into his seat, staring at the ceiling above him.

"Of course, in fact Arden and I have come with a simple plan. Arden has plenty of friends with connections across the known galaxy, so I will ask for a alliance with them in person. A little simple perhaps but it's the best we came up with in the last few days." Ralem informed the Je'daii Masters.

"Even if we create an alliance with Queen Arden's allies, is it enough to combat the Infinite Empire? They still have a large technological advantage even with our lightsabers, which we stole from them in the first place. And they have already conquered a fairly large portion of the known galaxy, how do we know that they haven't already have control over Coruscant?" asked Hawk Ryo.

"I don't but we don't have many options to explore either. If the Rakatans do have some semblance of power here on Coruscant, then we can exploit that to our advantage- rally the people and hopefully any potential ally that we have the power to defeat the Infinite Empire. The people will only follow someone who has the necessary power and courage to do what they can't." explained Ralem. He got up from his seat and paced the room with vigor, his hands placed behind his back and thoughts raced through his mind. Fortunately during the last few days, his sense in the Force told him that no sign of Dark Side energy or the Rakatans were on Coruscant, but he didn't neglect the possibility of bribery and corruption of other Senators, even Arden's friends and allies.

"Anyway you should get some rest, I imagine it's been a long travel for you all. We'll discuss more in the morning and I'll explain more about Coruscant and the situation here." Ralem dismissed his fellow Je'daii. "Arden, will you please show our guests where they'll be resting?"

"Of course beloved." Arden stood and walked over to Ralem, pressing her lips to his before escorting her newly arrived guests to their rooms. Left on his own again Ralem stared out into the distance contemplating his thoughts, a sense of nervousness panged throughout his body about future events.

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

 **"** ** _I will do whatever you ask, my master." a young girl said, kneeling as her eyes observed the older man in front of her. The man closed his eyes, feeling the girl's power through the Force. He seemed most pleased with the results._**

 **"** ** _The Force is strong with you, a powerful Sith you will become. Hence forth you shall be known as Darth... Vader."_**

 **"** ** _Thank you, my master." Her eyes turned to yellow, her face slowly engulfed in the shadows._**

 **"** ** _Rise." ordered the elder man. The girl obeyed his command, following him closely by his side as he ventured over to the desk. "I shall teach you all that I know Skywalker. The Dark Side is a path to many abilities some consider to be unnatural, but that will be your strength; the power of a goddess flows through your veins and together we shall rule the galaxy, and we shall have peace."_**

 ** _..._**

 **"** ** _I don't care what the Sith Code states, I love him!"shouted the Sith Lord to her master kneeling beside a comatose Ralem, his skin decaying in color and veins spread across his body like a plague; blood leaking out of the corner of his eyes. Her body matured beautifully as she grew older, possibly in her early twenties. Sky blue eyes piercing in his own golden eyes with regret and sorrow, her hand hands gripping around his face._**

"Ralem?" A snap of fingers brought the Je'daii Kage out of his musings, rubbing his fingers against his eyes he focused on the faces of Arden Lyn and Senator Organa at their table in the Manarai restaurant located on the Umate peak of the Manarai Mountains. The restaurant was infamous on Coruscant for the only known location of wildlife still left untouched, the Western Sea lying a fair distance away from their table.

"Sorry, must've been daydreaming again." apologized Ralem taking a small sip from the glass. He inspected the Senator in front of him; handsome, roughly in his thirties, well-groomed midnight raven hair, and wearing robes of the finest silk and various materials. Definitely a man who has brought himself in high-esteem; someone Ralem could admire. "Thank you for meeting us on short notice, I also apologize for my intrusion."

The Senator chuckled at the Je'daii's formal apology. "It's not a problem, a friend of Arden is a friend of mine. From what I heard you have a group of followers that are able to combat the Rakatans and bring the end to their tyranny, am I correct?"

"That's the general plan, though I would say the Je'daii are more than a 'group' of followers; much closer to a small army."

"How many of your Je'daii will follow you to battle?"

Ralem pursed his lips in recollection of the numbers. "Roughly five thousand, maybe more if we can convince others to join our cause."

"Impressive, so why exactly do you need my help? You clearly sound able to handle the situation yourself."

"It's more than that, it's a sign of goodwill. The Je'daii, while powerful, lack any resources of our own; no medicine, no ships of combat capabilities, combat training, any of these we sorely lack. We need your help and resources to fund us if the galaxy is to get of the Infinite Empire for good, an alliance of prosperity and peace." explained Ralem. Organa observed the boy for a moment, taking a look towards Arden then back to the Je'daii. He ran his hand through his beard in thought, concern clearly etched on his face.

"While I do agree that the galaxy would be better off without the Rakatans, your plea doesn't offer much comfort." Organa responded.

"I don't offer comfort, I offer a solution." retorted Ralem. "I have seen people suffer without the Rakatan's involvement on Coruscant, the supposed utopia in the galaxy. Crime lords, such as the Hutts and Xim, rule like tyrants with no one to stand up to them as they take advantage of those lesser than themselves. That is not how people are meant to live; they are meant to roam, discover, and better themselves, not only for themselves but for others too. I believe that with every single fiber of my being, you know it as well as I, I can sense it. One sacrifice is enough to rally people together, to change the tides of battle. But the only way I can provide that peace to everyone is if they desire it; if they don't then there is nothing I can do."

Senator Organa took a moment to consider the boy's words. He was impressed by the amount of passion seen in the Je'daii's eyes, glowing brighter than they normally were. Organa turned to face Arden who had a knowing smile on her face, nodding her head in agreement.

He sighed through his nose. "I still don't know about this, but since you seem so convinced that you can stop the Rakatans, I'll try to contact some friends of mine; they'll be very interested to see someone like yourself."

"That's all I ask, thank you." Ralem bowed his head respectfully to his new ally and leaned back in his chair as he sighed in content, visibly relaxing.

"You made a wise choice Charle, you won't regret it." Arden commented taking a drink from her wine glass.

"I hope for all our sakes you're right. If we ever are seen or heard of conspiring against the Infinite Empire, then the Rakatans will force their troops here, and I don't need to tell you how that'll end in disaster." Charle nervously explained.

"Luckily for us, we have been able to harness a small bit of technology from them and replicate their weapons, only to a small degree." Ralem pulled his saber from his belt, the pitched hum resonated in their ears once he activated the lightsaber. Charle Organa gazed into the black plasma blade, admiring its beauty and its deadly design.

"Remarkable, what kind of weapon is this?" inquired Charle.

"The original name was Forcesaber, but with our remodifications we have elected to call it Lightsabers, or in my case Darksaber given its color design. With just a few resources and tweaking from Cortana, an A.I who's been by my side from the very beginning, we've been able to replicate technology that's not available to the rest of the known galaxy, even by Coruscant's standards." Ralem gestured his head towards the little flying droid that was carrying their dishes, it's little robotic appendages started to grab and place the food onto the table when sparks ruptured from it and falling to the ground. Fortunately the Je'daii caught the droid and dishes through the Force, levitating them above their heads; whispers and murmurs from the patrons grew in astonishment from the boy's apparently magical powers when Ralem placed the dishes to their respective person before setting the droid to the ground.

Silence struck Charle Organa as he stared at Ralem for moments, not fully comprehending what just laid before him. A growing crowd started to form around their table as the people continued to whisper amongst themselves, pointing and staring at the boy; not fully knowing how to handle what happened before their very eyes.

"It's not very polite to stare, though given what just happened I think I can make an exception." commented Ralem, a joking smile on his face watching them from the corner of his eye. He stood from his seat, easing his hands up to his shoulders not wanting to frighten the people. "I'm here to help, I have powers that many would fear and rightfully so-"

"That's the powers that the Rakatans have! He's one of them!" The voice of a man shouted, pushing his way towards the front pointing his finger in accusation. "This must be some kind of trap, lulling us into a false sense of security. Coruscant has been a peaceful society for thousands of years then the Infinite Empire shows up kidnapping and reaping people from their homes to use as slaves. And now they've infiltrated perhaps the only safe place in the entire galaxy!"

"I am NOT with the Rakatans, they invaded my home and killed my people as well. But we were able to drive them off, using their own weapons against them." Ralem calmly explained as he once more reached for his Darksaber and igniting the blade. "As I was just explaining to Senator Charle Organa, I am your only chance if you want to get rid of the Rakatans. I come from a group of people known as the Je'daii, an organization that uses the power of the Force, which is a binding energy field that connects us to all living things. We have the technology to push the Rakatans back but we lack the resources to do a create enough for an entire army, which is why I came here; for help."

"And should I believe you? How do we know you're not lying?" The man continued to accuse.

The Je'daii Kage merely shrugged his shoulders. "You don't and if I was with them, you would've been dead by now. I offer a choice- join me and persevere your freedom or die by Rakatan hands. Not sure about you but I think my offer sounds better, but it's up to you to make your own choices. Now if you'll excuse us, we would like to return to our lunch."

Turning away from the crowd, Ralem started to returned to his table when the barrel of a blaster placed itself against the back of his head.

"Huh, it seems like the GenoHaradan have finally stepped from the shadows. I'm honestly surprised, I didn't expect a daylight assassination especially in public." Ralem stated, a smile growing onto his face. The crowd quivered in fear while a dozen other silver and black cladded armored assassins emerged, their blasters trained on the thirteen year old Je'daii. Arden clenched her fists in agitation at the sight of her lover being threatened but she knew he could handle himself, after all she did train him in Teras Kasi and Jar'Kai.

"We were not ordered to kill you Ralem Solstice, our leader has requested your presence." explained the GenoHaradan assassin. Though the assassin could not see the child's face, Ralem's smile remained. He knew this would be an ample opportunity to display his power in front of the people, thus making it easier for him to reach his cause.

Flexing his right hand, the Je'daii Kage manipulated the molecules in the air to create beads of water that surrounded himself. "As much as I'm flattered that one of the most infamous crime lords in the galaxy wants my attention, I have more urgent business with my girlfriend; beautiful day, fine cuisine and wine, sounds rather romantic, wouldn't you say?"

Before Ralem could even blink, the beads of water morphed into icicles and pierced the assassin behind the Je'daii. Blood trickled onto the floor, the sound of gurgling was emanated from the assassin choking on his own blood. The restaurant stared in fright as the patrons witnessed the mutilated corpse, a pool of blood started to form and grow underneath the assassin. Ralem brushed the back of his head where the blaster laid before facing the remaining GenoHaradan.

"Only one warning is all you shall receive so heed it well: you can join me and live or you can die alongside your master. The reign of Xim the Despot, Hutt Empire, and the Rakatans are soon approaching their end." announced Ralem, keeping an watchful eye on the masked GenoHaradan assassins. The assassins seemed weary of fighting a child with that type of power; manipulating the very air to create icicles. How was one supposed to defend themselves from such power? Almost as if he was reading their thoughts, Ralem opened his palm and a small inferno erupted from it.

"I can offer power and knowledge the likes you have never imagined, all you have to do is kneel." the Je'daii Kage offered. "What will your _choice_ be?"

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

Word spread across Coruscant about the arrival of the Je'daii, tales of hope rejuvenating those that had previously lost it. Rumors had grown and tales being told of these godlike beings were the common topic amongst the people. Protesters rallied together and demanded change be brought to Coruscant, to let something be done about the Infinite Empire's looming threat across the known galaxy. This bout of news brought relief to Ralem, knowing his plans were coming along promisingly. But for the time being he would forgo politics and focus on the blade for the upcoming war.

"It is impossible to wield a lightsaber without first mastering the action of your physical self." Hawk Ryo described watching the Je'daii Kage practice his lightsaber combat form of Shii-Cho. Ralem's strike were fluid, fast, wide, powerful and savage yet focused as he struck at his imaginary foe at the head, left side of the body, right side of the body, right leg, and left leg in rapid succession. "Shii-Cho, or the Way of the Sarlacc, is the fundamental of all the lightsaber forms for if you can master a lightsaber, you can master Shii-Cho. It utilizes the basics of the stance to allow a balance of offensive and defensive movement. It's transition from the common sword to the lightsaber makes it easy to learn and comprehend quickly since its movements are similar."

"I see, I knew this form felt familiar. It's the same sword style we use back on Tython." remarked Ralem. "And I would assume that's the strength of Shii-Cho, it's simplicity?"

"Pretty much, I designed Shii-Cho primarily as a root from which you can customize to your personal needs. I can assure you that all the Je'daii Masters here can agree with me that their forms are derived from Shii-Cho but with a fundamental strength and weakness, as all forms do." explained Hawk Ryo. "The biggest weakness I have seen is that with its wide swings, it's ill-advised for single combat but with it blossoms under the assault of multiple opponents."

With a expert whirl of his darksaber Ralem nodded absentmindedly, his eyes casted off into the skylines of Coruscant. His thoughts drifting back to the vision he had back at the restaurant and when he landed on Kashmir, he sensed that something was off about those visions. He didn't know why but he felt those visions were from a different time, not of his own though. However he was brought of his musings when Cortana handed him something wrapped in a silk cloth. The Je'daii took the silk cloth and unwrapped it to reveal a golden lightsaber hilt.

"What's this?" chuckled Ralem as he continued to inspect the hilt in his hands.

Cortana smiled softly, a light pink blush appeared on her cheeks. It was rather cute in the Kage's opinion. "Well remember back in the caves of Ilum where you suggested the Je'daii's lightsaber have a similar function to the Forcesaber in terms of using the Force to activate them? I finally managed a breakthrough during the last seven months, funny enough it was a minor oversight on my part."

Ralem observed the lightsaber again, taking a more critical observation to it. He noticed the golden intricate designs on it, which displayed finesse quality. He ran his hand across it, feeling the smooth lines embedded onto the hilt. Upon inspecting the lightsaber closely, however, he noticed no activation button of any kind. One tiny detail that brought a smile to the Yashan Je'daii was the emblems of his birthmarks christened on the bottom of the hilt. He wrapped his arms around Cortana's waist and brought her lips to his.

"You didn't have to do that for me you know."

"I know-"

"She wasn't the only one who worked on them you know." Lanoree pouted cutely as her arms were folded underneath her breasts. "I think we deserve a little something as well, right Kora?"

The Je'daii Kage glanced over his shoulder to the remaining male Je'daii, staring at either at them or anywhere else. "Um, maybe later ok? We should probably focus back to the task at hand. Not too mention they probably feel a tad uncomfortable."

" Oh no, why stop now? Show us what they _deserve_ Kage." teased Tem Madog.

Ralem squinted his eyes playfully at the brown furred Cather, seeing the few instances of humor from the Je'daii Master. "Oh aren't we being witty today Madog? Didn't know you were so interested in my love life."

Madog shrugged his shoulders. "It's not like you're keeping it quiet either way, so why not enjoy it vicariously?"

A loud bang brought the Je'daii out of their conversation to Gra'pa, who held his short wooden staff in front of him. "We should keep our minds focused on the present, not in erotic fantasies."

"Alright fair enough, I believe Quan-Jang was next?"

The dark-skinned Je'daii ignited his lightsaber, showing its emerald colored blade. "Unlike the wild raw attacks of Shii-Cho, Makashi is efficient and at its best against another saber."

The Je'daii performed a small demonstration encasing the surprising finesse compared to its predecessor; Ralem quickly spotting the form's strength primarily in its footwork. Quan-Jang continued to perform a series of thrusts, lunges, and ripostes that were methodical yet natural at the same time.

"As you can see, Makashi emphasizes its footwork while maintaining its elegant yet economical form. A Makashi practitioner maintains the edge over a single opponent, mentally orchestrating the flow of battle to their favor." Quan-Jang explained.

Simply nodding, Ralem reviewed the precise footwork of Makashi. "I see, so Makashi is geared more towards single opponents then." He placed his hand underneath his chin, analyzing to see any potential of flaws.

"That was the idea in mind. Leverage, Position, and Advantage- the three pillars of Makashi, intelligence will always have the advantage over raw strength but it is harder to master. The form requires a strong center of gravity while being fluid in motion, neither too wide nor too thin but always ready to pounce."

Settling into a stance with his right foot and hand forward, Ralem performed a step-slide forward and jabbed into the air before stepping back to the middle.

"Good, it seems your training in the Teras Kasi martial arts have prepared you better than I'd imagine. But you must remember a golden rule in Makashi, or any fight for that matter- make sure never to tightrope. It will make you unbalance and force you into an comprising position, resulting in your death." Ralem took the advice in stride and incorporated in time with his practice. He started to move more in a circular pattern, lunging and parrying against his foe before ceasing, placing the lightsaber onto his belt.

A grin crept its way onto Ralem's lips, very much pleased. "I have to admit I am enjoying this form immensely, though I am a bit worried about it being geared towards single opponents mainly because there might be a scenario where we might have to engage multiple opponents. But I think we both know that won't be too much of an issue. So who is next?"

The sound of a high pitched hum caused the Je'daii Kage to turn behind him to witness Lanoree defending herself with deflecting strikes. Only defensive strikes, no sense of attack; counterattacking only when there was an opening. She performed her maneuvers with such speed and grace that Ralem could see four, maybe five, afterimages; one might say the lightsaber was acting more as a shield than a weapon.

"Primarily a defensive form, Soresu is easy to learn but difficult to master. Soresu requires patience, endurance, and inward marking. Master self-harmony and accomplish anything." stated Lanoree. "Know thyself; whistle like wind or be like the whistle, of wind."

Licking his lips subconsciously, Ralem reached for the lightsaber hanging on the right side of his belt and glanced down at it. He wasn't entirely sure if the lightsaber would activate if he tried to use his Force powers, but he trusted Cortana, he knew she wouldn't give him any potential faulty equipment. Feeling the Force surge through his arm, he channeled it into his arm and the sound of a low hum resulted in his favor.

A trail of golden fire reflected dimly on his face, the power of the sun within his grasp. Ralem twirled the hilt in his hand expertly before catching the hilt in a reverse grip, launching an attack towards Lanoree with a lunge. Quickly blocking the upcoming thrust, Lanoree countered with a wide slash to his neck, however the Je'daii Kage stepped backwards, narrowly dodging the tip of her saber slashing the tip of his nose.

Counteracting with a slash towards the side of her neck, he halted his attack within a few inches. However Ralem noticed the smirk on Lanoree's face causing him to look down where her lightsaber laid poised against his stomach.

"Well-played." remarked the Je'daii Kage, sheathing his blade back to its hilt.

The female Je'daii gave a proud smile before sheathing her blade as well. "I know. However you must bear in mind is that the Soresu practitioner must assume a serene demeanor. Passively pursue an opening in your opponent's attacks, perceive with enough motion to quell your foe."

"Right..." Ralem nodded his head as he yawned, shaking his head in sync with the yawn. "Sorry it's been a long day. Anyway I'll have to spend more one on one time with you to get a better grasp on these forms."

The elder Talid walked over to Ralem, a concerned look on his face as he glanced towards the young teenager. "If I may, I suggest some rest before continuing with your training."

"I'm fine, just a little tired is all. What do you have to offer?"

The Je'daii Kage's skull buzzed from behind as he deflected the blaster bolt with his lightsaber, immediately the other Je'daii ignited their lightsabers and face their adversaries; two armored beings standing on the large balcony of the apartment complex. Though Ralem felt a familiar presence with the female warrior, a part of him knowing whom it might be.

The Je'daii Kage pointed his golden lightsaber towards the two. "So you finally show yourselves, I had a feeling someone was following me this past week. Now I will only ask this once- why are you here?"

" _Ni cuyir eskrala, olyaor liser deflect tracy'uur tracyn teh sulyu cuyir nayc pakod paruaor_." the taller warrior spoke in an unknown language, his yellow eyes closely observing between the young teenager and his weapon. " _A cayatitr ibac haal be tracyn. Ni ganar haa'taylir besbe'tracye emuurir ibac a'yaou._ "

Ralem looked towards the female warrior, waiting for her to translate. However she merely stood there, her helmet covering her face; he could sense that she was staring directly at him, the feeling in his stomach started to grow. The woman took her helmet off, revealing a fairly young woman, in her early thirties, with long brown hair and blond highlights and unmistakable emerald eyes peering into the golden eyes of her lost son.

"Mom?" The Je'daii lowering the lightsaber to his side, his widening with perplex joy and fear. He rocked in place side to side, his lightsaber gently shaking. He could feel his eyes becoming misty and laughing nervously as he rubbed his eyes with his free hand, trying to comprehend what was happening right in front of him.

The woman offered a kind smile as she walked towards him till they were face to face.

"You've grown. I use to remember when you were a child, though you're still my child."

The Je'daii Kage swallowed the lump in his throat before wrapping his arms awkwardly around his mother, burying his head into her neck. She recuperated the hug quickly, he felt the surprising strength behind the hug but chose to ignore it. Several intense moments passed before they broke their hug, Revanna cupped his son's cheek and kissed his forehead.

"I missed you."

"I missed you too. What are you doing here though?"

"I can ask you the same, though rumors have spread about these godlike beings have been rampant."

Ralem shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know about 'godlike'. Though with the power of the Force, it's possible. Anyway who's that behind you?"

"This is Te Sol'yc Mand'alor, leader of a group of warriors known as the Mandalorian Crusaders. A fascinating group of people really, but I'll have him explain that part instead."

The 2 meter tall Taung stepped towards the Je'daii Kage, dwarfing him completely in sheer size and mass. "For countless eons my people had fought against the Humans on the very soil of Coruscant itself, before there were even signs of civilization. Until one day a powerful volcano erupted nearly wiping out the humans and darkened the skies of Coruscant, we Taungs came to call ourselves _Dha Werda Verda, the "_ Warriors of the Shadow". Despite the volcano's devastating effect, we were driven off Coruscant and took refuge on the world of Roon. Eventually I lead my people off-world, traveling across the galaxy in search of worthy opponents and glory. We Mandalorians thrive in the blood of battle, and it is considered a shame to die any other way."

Ralem nodded understandingly, having an idea where this was heading. "I see, so you wish to have an alliance then?"

"More like you should align with us, you are in short supply of warriors for your war against the Rakatans and you yourself stated that your Je'daii are sorely lacking in combat experience."

"So you were at the restaurant then. If you and your Mandalorians are so capable of dealing with the Infinite Empire, then why are you offering help to us?"

"Mandalorians follow a strict code of honor young one, a code of six tenets that defines us as a culture-

 _Ba'jur bal beskar'gam_

 _Ara'noc, aliit,_

 _Mando'a bal Mand'alor-_

 _An vencuyan mhi._

 _Education and armor, Self-defense, our tribe, Our language and our leader- All help us to survive_." recited the Mandalorian. "Strength through unity, I can see that in your eyes. You and I are the same- we both will do what's necessary for our people. To thrive and spread our knowledge and beliefs to those that will listen."

Taking a deep breath, Ralem contemplated about the potential alliance with the Mandalorians but he wanted to test the skill of a Mandalorian warrior first. "While that sounds impressive, I might need a little more persuasion."

Te Sol'yc Mand'alor smirked at the aspect of where the young Je'daii was heading. "So you wish to see the strength of a Mandalorian? Very well then-"

"Wait, wait. Do you have to fight _now_?" Lanoree spoke up, quickly stepping between the two. "Ralem hasn't completed his training yet and I'm sure you don't want to fight an inexperienced opponent just yet."

"Inexperienced?" Ralem directed his gaze towards her, shocking her with a stern glare. "I have killed hundred, if not thousands of Rakatans, I am more than capable of taking care of one Mandalorian."

As soon as he finished, a powerful punch sent the Yashan flat onto his back. His vision became blurry as his head ached, Ralem felt his belt jostle a bit and as his head cleared, he saw the Mandalorian holding the Darksaber; its signature high pitched whistle unmistakable. Ralem shakily stood on his feet and grabbed his golden lightsaber, igniting his saber holding it closely to his side.

Striking quickly and powerful the Mandalorian was dominant in their struggle, Ralem relied primarily on his smaller frame, speed, and what he observed of the Soresu form. The Je'daii felt his left eye throb from the punch earlier but that didn't deter his determination, quickly back flipping over the Taung he attempted to stab the Mandalorian but the warrior merely ignited his jetpack, gaining an altitude advantage.

The Mandalorian reached for the blaster by his side, firing several rounds towards the Je'daii. Using a figure eight movement Ralem deflected the blaster bolts away from him, rolling out of the way to gain distance from his foe. Thinking quickly Ralem pulled the Mandalorian down with the Force, the warrior falling onto his knees and his jetpack whining in protest before sputtering and shutting down.

The Je'daii ran over to the fallen warrior and, channeling the Force through his legs, drop kicked the Mandalorian into the wall, creating a huge indention into it. A large flame of fire almost engulfed the Je'daii but Ralem countered the fire with flick of his wrist, dissipating the flames and crushed the flamethrower. Lifting the warrior into the air, Ralem threw him to the other side of the room, slamming into the wall.

Panting excessively the Mandalorian got to his feet, prepared for another round. The Mandalorian hunched over in pain as blood leaked from his mouth, grabbing Ralem's leg where it was planted firmly in his stomach and slammed him into the hard ground head first creating several cracks. Still holding the dazed Je'daii's leg, he threw him to the wall next to him; planting another hole into it.

Stumbling onto his feet Ralem slashed absentmindly into the air, missing the Mandalorian entirely then landing on his hands and knees. He felt his hair being pulled and a swift knee to his face, a fire of pain stung across it. A trickle of blood leaked down his nose and the Je'daii retaliated with slash across the Taung's arm resulting him in yelling in pain and releasing the Je'daii. Taking the opportunity Ralem leapt off the wall and spun kick the Taung in the face, knocking the Taung on his back. Lifting the Taung over his head, the Je'daii walked over to the middle of the room where laid a crystal glass table, and dropped him onto it headfirst, destroying the table.

The Je'daii Kage stumbled onto a nearby chair, panting heavily as blood streamed down his face. He leaned his head back against the chair and closed his eyes for a moment to rest; however he felt a sudden chill of something cold and wet slapped onto his face where his eye stung. He removed the piece of meat to see the disapproving glare of Lanoree, guilt crept from within the Je'daii Kage as he realized his earlier statement towards her.

"Lanoree I-" Before he could apologize, Lanoree stormed off from the room. Ralem groaned internally when Kora sat next to him on the arm of the chair.

"You know what you need to do, I'm not going to lecture you on this. You probably should go talk to her after you stop bleeding on the floor. Speaking of which." Kora advised before Arden spoke.

"And you, mister, have to repairs to do. You also have to make it up to me too, I'll be in my bed waiting for you once you finish talking to Lanoree, or I'll join you in the makeup sex instead. Now I'll have to assess the damage done by your male egos."

Ralem stood from the chair and limped towards where Lanoree headed. "No I need to fix right now." He placed the slab of meat back on his face before knocking on her door. No answer. He quietly opened the door to see Lanoree sitting on the bed where he could see his reflection in the doorway.

"I didn't say you could come in." stated Lanoree with hint of repressed anger in her voice. Ralem didn't answer as he sat next to her, the female Je'daii scooted away from him.

"I have no excuse for what I said, I'm sorry." Ralem slinked his hand over to Lanoree's, hoping that she wouldn't back away from his efforts. Luckily for him she didn't back away any further, placing his hand on top of hers rubbing it softly. Judging it best that he leave her alone for the meantime, he walked over to doorway before Lanoree spoke to him.

"I'm worried about you Ralem. Each passing day you grow more weary and I'm afraid for you, us, and everything we stand for."

"Me too. More than you know."

"I'm just afraid we'll lose you. I know what we have to do for the galaxy but is it worth it?"

The Yashan Je'daii paused as he glanced back towards Lanoree, taking methodical steps towards her before he was in front of her. He knelt in front of her, looked into her grey eyes and grabbed a hold of her hands.

"I honestly couldn't tell you. Maybe this isn't something for you to worry about, I don't know. Is that why you were persistent on preventing the fight between me and the Mandalorian?"

Lanoree nodded, the Je'daii sensing strong waves of fear from her. Releasing her hands, he brought his hands to her cheeks, cupping them then embraced her into romantic kiss. Powerful tingling sensations spread between the two Je'daii as they wrapped their arms around another. Tears cascaded from Lanoree onto Ralem, prompting the Je'daii Kage to break the kiss, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

"Hey I just noticed you look pretty even when you cry."

Lanoree laughed at the poor joke, gently pushing Ralem's shoulder in protest; however her radiant smile remained. "You're a jerk, you know that? Making fun of a crying girl."

"Now that sounds more like me." quipped Ralem, gently laughing to himself and prompt himself next to Lanoree. "I'm just as scared about this as you are, even more so since it all depends on me. But I think that's the beauty of it- being aware of your limits and finding a way to overcome that."

Ralem could the tremble of Lanoree's hand, apparently feeling comforted.

"I know that, but it still doesn't change that you become something else entirely. And I'm afraid that it'll be for the worse."

Ralem nodded solemnly. "If it happens, then it happens. I can't do anything to change that, I'm not saying it's entirely destiny that has set my path but there are certain things that the Force has set in place; like a tree. One bark, many branches, and a plethora of leaves; each one unique and individual in its own right but a foundation that has centered all of us, you understand?"

"I think so." Lanoree leaned her head against Ralem, a rather comically sight in any other situation regarding their height differentials. "Just promise me you won't change too quickly."

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

 ** **3 months later...****

Hundreds to thousands of Senators from across the galaxy flooded towards Coruscant to investigate the tales of the Je'daii, however they were surprised when they met the young Kage. Never did they expect someone so young with so much power and an idea that could shape the galaxy for future generations. During those months a mushroom-shaped complex was constructed in the district known locally as the Senate District, where the Senators could come together to discuss their concerns and further politics. Countless weeks passed as the Je'daii and Senate writing and rewriting a document titled the Galactic Constitution, the highest set of laws in the Galactic Republic. Days upon days of debates were held discussing the style of government that would unite the galaxy together. A close vote between Democracy and a Confederacy was held in the Senate to act on a Confederacy; entitling all planets to a state of self-government once the war was over.

Until the Je'daii Kage offered the idea of a Triumvirate style government; three leaders leading the Senate. Initially the Senate protested the idea since that would lead the third neutral party with too much power as the swinging vote. However Ralem insisted it would be for the best since he raised concerns about the Senate becoming too corrupt and a sense of bureaucracy would arise in the future. Plus the Je'daii would delegate its power directly towards the people of the galaxy, applying a sense of freedom and peace. Eventually the Senate agreed to the Kage's terms and settled for the Triumvirate; all the while across the known galaxy, multiple star systems brought their technology and resources to mass produce starships, the hyperdrive systems, weapons, medicine, and various other supplies needed for war.

However a special meeting was to be held in the Senate today entailing details about the birth of an Galactic Army, to match the might of the Infinite Empire and the vote of the third Triumvir. This was the day that the Je'daii Order could properly make their mark in galactic history.

Ralem looked at himself in the mirror, glancing side to side of his new attire; a suit of golden armor interwoven with small threads of phrik filament to provide additional resistance to lightsaber attacks. The symbols of Ralem's birthmark was printed separately on his left and right shoulder pads and gauntlets; the gauntlets themselves were composed of pure cortosis, rendering any lightsaber blade that touched it useless for several minutes. The uniform also included a black hood and royal black cape.

"You look quite dashing Ralem, I always did like a man in uniform." Kora complimented, smoothing out any wrinkles on the Kage's cape.

Ralem glanced at Kora through the mirror, his glistening teeth shining against his warm smile. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Kora ran her snow white hands through Ralem's hair, down to his neck, softly kissing his face in multiple areas; worshiping her lover as he deserved to be. "I'm so proud of you Ralem, you've brought the most of the known galaxy within ten months, leader of the two most powerful factions and you're only thirteen years old."

Ralem grimaced a bit on the last bit. "I don't like it when you bring up my age."

Kora smiled lustfully, softly biting his earlobe then followed by gently suckling on it. "Why not? I think it's kind of hot; a young boy trying to prove his worth to a mature woman, as if the idea doesn't turn you on in some way."

"It's not that, it's something else."

"If it's about the Senate then don't worry about them, so far they have listened to all the advice you've given them."

" 'So far', exactly. It might just be my nerves but I have bad feeling about this. A bunch of full-grown adults with many years of political freedom, then all of a sudden giving that up to a teenager, as if you wouldn't be mad about that."

"Maybe not in the grand scheme of things with the Rakatans. But even after the war, and when we have won, you will have a galactic hero; any attempt to overthrow you will be blasphemous, not only by the Je'daii Order but also the galaxy at large."

"Then again politicians haven't always done the smart thing in my experience." Revanna spoke, leaning against the doorway in her Mandalorian armor, her helmet placed against her thigh.

"I'll trust your word on that." commented Ralem. He noticed that his mother hadn't aged all that much in almost four years, her silky brown hair tracing across her porcelain skin-

He shut his eyes tightly, ignoring the growing lustful thoughts of his mother. Granted she was a beautiful woman but... He decided to focus on the current situation at hand. Though considering his bloodline with the Father, if it would be considered incestuous by nature. He exhaled through his nose and calmed his mind, he honestly didn't understand why he was now having these feelings of all time considering.

"Tell the Je'daii Masters to meet us at the Senate, hear what the rumors are saying." Ralem instructed to Kora, to which she complied, leaving Ralem and Revanna alone. The Je'daii watched the reflection of his mother for a moment before walking past her. She grabbed his arm, halting him place.

"They're lucky to have you; a good man, a great warrior and leader, most women aren't so fortunate to have someone like that. Don't take advantage of that though, just an advice from a woman's perspective." In a surprise moment, Revanna embraced Ralem in an affectionate kiss. Almost immediately Ralem pressed her against the wall, running his hands across her armored body before breaking off the kiss. A thin strand of spit connected the two together.

Giving a small smile, Revanna cupped her son's cheek before leaving the dazed Je'daii behind, swaying her hips side to side.

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

 **Senate Building**

Loud debates echoed across the Senate floor, the Senators discussing a wide range of topics both minute and controversial; all overlapping into one glob of noise. Ralem sat patiently in his Senate pod with Gra'pa and Lanoree on either side of him, the remaining Je'daii, Revanna, and Te Sol'yc Mand'alor sat behind them. The Je'daii Kage stared at the open pit below where the Supreme Chancellor's pod would be. The sound of mechanical whirring silenced the Senate as the Supreme Chancellor's pod finally arrived.

A half-dome shaped pod placed on a pillar of vertical orange lights, the Supreme Chancellor's pod towered above the others; akin to the bud of a blooming flower. The Supreme Chancellor wore regal blue robes and accompanying him were two guards who wore matching color schemes to the Chancellor.

"For too long has the galaxy suffered under the tyrannical rule of the Infinite Empire, an Empire that as of this day shall meet its fate." spoke the Chancellor. Thunderous applause shook the entirety of the building itself in approval, along with battle cries and shouts. Ralem smiled and applauded in kind, wanting to hear more from his new ally.

"And we can owe much of our courage to the Je'daii, an alliance I'm sure will remain unbroken for ages to come." Ralem stood and waved towards the cheering Senators, a part of him enjoying the attention. "However a major issue that prevents us from declaring war against the Rakatans is the lacking of a proper military. Which is why we have brought you here to ask for your support, for anyone willing to risk their lives for a better future of the galaxy. We cannot hope to win if no one is willing-"

A explosion of fire and debris rained down amongst the Senators, a giant gaping hole laid in the absence of the Senate roof. Dark ashy smoke polluted the innards of the building until it dissipated with a small starship hovered above the Supreme Chancellor. Several beings descended next to the Supreme Chancellor, who attempted to attack the Rakatan. The Rakatan caught the punch whilst not looking and tossed him of the edge to his death, before Ralem caught in mid-fall, pulling the Chancellor towards him.

Ralem noticed the armored figures that surrounded the Rakatan, apparently he served as their leader; Predor Skal'nas, ruler of the Rakatan people.

"Skal'nas I presume." Ralem stated calmly, assessing the teal colored Rakatan. "I figured you to be taller."

"Much the same can said about you, Solstice." retorted Skal'nas. "Though in hindsight it presents a most presentable opportunity."

Ralem didn't like the way the Rakatan was speaking; too calm, too knowing of something.

"As I have come to hear, the Je'daii Order prevails itself on the aspect of knowledge correct?" Skal'nas presented a small device from his pocket, placing it inside the pod. A large hologram of map engulfed everything in sight; stars, planets, and multiple lines were visible. "This is the galaxy in its entirety; four hundred billion stars, hundred-eighty billion star systems, and the distance of one hundred-twenty thousand light years. Also inhabited by one hundred quadrillion sentient beings."

The Je'daii Kage frowned at the aspect of the map, his eyes darting across the vast amount of information presented to him. "Why are you showing this to us?"

"As an incentive for a surrender. We have acquired technology from an ancient race known as the Celestials, the same godlike beings that created the technology that provided the Je'daii their weapons and hyperdrive."

Ralem narrowed his eyes at the Rakatan knowing this sacred information.

"The same beings that created you." Ralem's eyes widened at the revelation of this astounding new information. He could feel everyone's eyes on him.

"How-"

"I know because my people were in the exact situation as you. These Celestials had dominated the stars for hundreds of thousands of years and made contact with numerous species including Gree, Kwa, Sharu, Columi, Killiks, Humans, and Taung. Half of these species retreated to a primitive state in fear of the Celestials, believing any advancements in technology would garner their attention. They would capture any advance civilization and experiment on them without consent, including our own. Countless generations my people were servants to them, using us as slaves to build their technology until we finally revolted. And I know that you were created to dominate us back to the slavery of those we were once foolish enough to call gods."

Shaking his head, a nervous laughter evident, Ralem refused to believe any of it. "No, no you're lying."

"Why else you would be here? Didn't your Father tell you to stop us?"

"Well yes, but you're slaughtering, enslaving and raping billions of people for your 'cause', what else was I suppose to do?"

"And countless generations of my people were slaughter by your kind as well, it's simply retribution. Besides you were designed to bring the galaxy 'balance', right? You slaughter our kind, we slaughter your kind, an endless cycle of war and violence destroying the galaxy piece by piece for your precious balance, and I'm the villain?"

The Je'daii Kage's breathing rapidly increased as he tried calm his nerves from the Rakatan's rant. Was it true about these Celestials, and about his Father? Could he actually have done what the Rakatan has stated? His eyes flashed orange before his entire body swarmed in a stream of an golden inferno, grabbing his lightsaber and activated its golden shine, before launching himself towards the Rakatan; his posture calm and his face with a tiny hint of amusement.

A purple Forcesaber countered the golden lightsaber, a black and grey armored being with a scarf wrapped tightly around his neck stood between the enraged Je'daii and the Predor. Ralem was surprised at how this being standing before him managed to block his attack without fault.

"Curious aren't you?" asked Skal'nas. "The Force has been around since the universe was first formed child, don't fool yourself into believing that you were truly the first one to harness its power." His gaze made its way to Cortana for a brief moment. "These are what we call Force Hounds, servants of the Infinite Empire. Their strength are unrivaled, saved for their masters."

The Je'daii could sense a powerful dark presence within this Force Hound, and it seemed familiar somehow, for some reason.

"You killed my master Tul'kar on your world almost four years ago." spoke the Force Hound. Ralem's eyes widened for a second before narrowing his eyes once more. "And I must thank you for killing him for me, I always hated the bastard."

Ralem eased off the clash, taking a step back obviously confused on the statement. The Force Hound took his helmet off to reveal a handsome young man, around sixteen years of age, with a purple triangle pained on his face. His ice blue eyes pierced into Ralem's own, as if looking into his very being.

"For many years my master trained me until my bones broke, and even then continued to punish me. Having me slaughter those I called friends for his amusement."

A small amount of pity raked through the Je'daii for the young man, he was almost as old as he was. Though the Force Hound didn't seem too concerned about what he had done, probably didn't know better, probably didn't care.

"Then why are you still with them?" Ralem implored, genuinely curious.

"I was bred and trained to fight, it's all I'm good at and I don't expect much else. The weak die and the strong prevail, that's how nature operates. You can't change that."

Ralem placed his lightsaber in a low guard position by his right leg, the tip pointed towards the ground. "You maybe right but I can sense something in you, a sense of belonging. A life of significance, of conscious."

"It doesn't matter what I want, I'm only told what to do; nothing more." The Force Hound brought his Forcesaber back in front of him, awaiting the first strike to be blown.

"Can I at least have your name? Or whatever they call you?"

"Xesh."

The final word was spoken as the two opponents swung their sabers at each other. The war for the galaxy finally commenced.

 **A/N:** **Hey guys, Happy New Year! And I deeply apologize for the extremely late update. But I hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter! A little more on the political side but it makes sense in the end I suppose lol, creating the Republic and whatnot.**

 **Just a few more chapters until we get Clone Wars, I promise ;). Maybe 3-4 chapters...**

 **On a side note here, for those curious on what Ralem** **'s Forcesaber/Lightsabers that Cortana, Lanoree, and Kora made looks like, I posted the image on my Deviantart page (SaiyanSage) titled** ** _Ralem Solstice's lightsaber_** **for a better look.**

 **Also Ralem's new outfit is based on the Imperial Knights armor, except it's golden XD.**

 **Translation (in order of appearance):** ** _I'm impressed, being able to deflect blaster fire from behind is no easy feat._**

 ** _A weapon that breathes fire. I have seen weapons like that before._**

 **Power Scaling-** **(In the future I** **'ll get rid of the Naruto characters in the list since at this point I think you guys get gist of the idea, lol. Maybe after this chapter, I don't know, let me know what you guys think.)**

 **Solar System to Solar System+ level:**

 **Naga Sadow** **(** ** _with Sith Corsaid and Sith relics through Dark Side Magic_** **)**

 **World Razor** **(** ** _Destroyed 100 stars and 1,000 planets as according to the Rakata ruins and the Failsafe; the full power of the Infinite Empire was needed to defeat it_** **)**

 **Star to Star+ level:**

Father

Abeloth

 **Planet to Planet+ level:**

Grand Master Luke Skywalker

Ralem Kyo Solstice ( _potentially; potentially higher to Star level_ )

Son

Daughter

 **Moon to Moon+ level:**

Darth Sidious

Yoda ( _contained Sidious_ _' lighting for a few seconds_ )

Sith Emperor

Hagoromo Otsutsuki

Kaguya Otsutsuki

Naruto Uzumaki* _(Overpowered Toneri's attack that cut the moon in half, without fighting at full power, due to that he had to release Kurama to fight against Hamura's statue. Assumed to be at least as powerful as Madara)_

Sasuke Uchiha* ( _with Indra's Arrow_ )

Madara Uchiha* ( _via Chibaku Tensei_ )

 **Continent to Continent+ level:**

Mace Windu

Darth Bane

Revan

Darth Nihilus

Darth Malak

Darth Plageuis

Toneri Otsutsuki

Darth Vader ( _His training as a Sith Lord has noticeably increased his power from his previous peak as Anakin Skywalker; previously Country level_ )

Galen Marek/Starkiller ( _Comparable to Darth Vader; previously Country level_ )

Count Dooku ( _One of the most powerful Jedi the Order had ever produced, even before his powers became enhanced by becoming a Sith Lord; previously Island+ level_ )

Darth Maul ( _appears to be comparable to, if not slightly weaker than, Darth Tyranus per Son of Dathomir; previously Island level_ )

Anakin Skywalker ( _Surpassed Darth Tyranus at his peak in Revenge of the Sith; previously Island level_ )

Obi-Wan Kenobi ( _Telekinetically stalemated a Darth Vader that, while emotionally compromised, was still well above his Padawan self in raw power; previously Island level_ )

 **Country to Country+ level:**

Ajunta Pall

Satele Shan

Darth Malgus

Meetra Surik

Darth Sion

Obito Uchiha

Might Guy ( _8 Gates open_ )

Kakashi Hatake ( _with Obito's dual Sharingan_ )

 **Island to Island+ level:**

Hashirama Senju

Minato Namikaze

Nagato Uzumaki ( _via Chibaku Tensei_ )

Ki-Adi Mundi

Darth Nihilus

 **City to City+ level:**

Itachi Uchiha

Rock Lee

Gaara

Hinata Hyuuga

Jiraiya ( _Small City_ )

Orochimaru ( _at least equal to Jiraiya_ )

 **Town to Town+ level:**

Tsunade

 **City Block to City Block+ level:**

Konan ( _Town+ to Small Island with preparation_ )

Ahsoka Tano

Barriss Offee

Sasori

Sakura Haruno ( _stated to be Tsunade's equal in The Last movie_ )

 ***Naruto, Sasuke, and Madara are otherwise Continent to Continent+ level in Base form**


	7. Growing of the Mind and the Force

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything pertaining to the Star Wars franchise; all rights** **are acquired to Disney. The only things I own are my OC's Ralem Solstice.**

 **"Speaking"**

 **'Thoughts'**

 **'Telepathic'**

 **Ralem's Collective:**

Ahsoka Tano

Asajj Ventress

Padme Amidala

Riyo Chuchi

Sabren Wren

Satele Shan

Shae Vizla

Adi Gallia

Shaak Ti

Aayla Secura

Luminara Unduli

Barriss Offee

Tiplee

Tiplar

Bo-Katan Kryze

Duchess Satine

Miraj Scintel

Darth Talon

Lanoree Brock

Cortana

Steele Gerrea

Marasiah Fel

The Daughter

Mina Bonteri

Hera

Jarael

Deliah Blue

Jaina Solo

Mara Jade

Savan

Vaylin

Senya Tirall

Queen Julia

Sola Naberrie

Breha Organa

Fem Revan

Meetra Surik

Trill

Sylvar

Celeste Mourne

Githany

Keelyvine Reus

Nadia Grell

Akaavi Spar

Jaesa Willsaam

Ashara Zavros

Kaliyo Djannis

Raina Temple

Darth Zannah

Visas Marr

Brianna

Raskta Lsu

Elke Vetter

Azlyn Rae

Sigel Dare

Leia Organa

Seventh Sister

Rey

Captain Phasma

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

Golden, purple and red blades crossed each other, each strike trying to end their respective opponents. Molten scars ravished the ground in their wake, the smell of burnt substances filled their nostrils. Departing in the wake of the attack on the Senate building, the war outside ravaged across the city; death and destruction slaughtered with no sense of prejudice amongst those slain.

Smoke and ash polluted the air, the skies darkened the skies almost appropriately given the situation. Debris rained down from the several mile high buildings, creating tiny craters once landing. The anguished screams of the frightened citizens rang in Ralem's ears, but it served only as a slight destruction to him. And he needed as much focus and power as he could muster.

The Je'daii Kage leaned half-way back from the dual Forcesabers crossing in an X-formation in an attempt to slice his neck off. Feeling the radiating heat from the Forcesabers Ralem thrusted his left palm forward and pushed the Force Hunters back a fair distance, leaving Ralem some time to recuperate and come up with some kind of plan.

Xesh and Trill panted lightly, never in their entire lives had they met someone who could keep with their full efforts. However Xesh smirked at the prospect of such a challenge, after all, it was what he was trained for, and he would not fail in his mission. He glanced towards Trill, his longtime friend in battle; seeing her pant harder than him was a sign to the Force Hunter of her potential demise. And if that happened, so be it. It was a battle of power, as well as life and death. The weakest died and the strongest survived...

Ralem calmed his body and mind, focusing on surviving at the moment. It still impressed him that those two were able to keep with him, though the Je'daii Kage could argue that it could be the other way around; though in the end he guessed it didn't matter. His mind streamed through multiple plans, concerning which one be the best suitable outcome. And given the earlier statements of Xesh, he could be convinced to join the Je'daii Order, Ralem would have to find the right incentive to lure the two of them in.

Sheathing his golden lightsaber onto his belt, Ralem inhaled. Ignoring the calculating stares for now, Ralem spoke. "Your failed Empire. You were always superior to the murderous fools in charge here."

Xesh lowered his Forcesaber, its purple hue shining against his legs as amusement crawled onto his lips. "I enjoy ending the lives of those who fail to live up to expectations."

From the corner of her eye the female Force Hunter watched her long time friend while listening to the Je'daii, a part of her interested in what he had to say.

Ralem took a step forward, but upon taking said step and seeing the aggressive stances of the Force Hunters again, he decided against it. At least he garnered their attention, for now. He took another step, this time towards the edge of the rooftop they were currently occupying; the massive Rakatan starships ruling the skies above and the thunderous bellows of the blasters decimating their targets. He couldn't entirely remember when the other Je'daii members arrived but when they did, the little military equipment they did have on hand proved to be effective enough.

"You could be more than an executioner. You could rule." offered Ralem, turning around to face the Force Hunters and with an extension of his right arm he closed his fist as he spoke; a little theatricality hoping to be proved his point.

"And spend our days fighting against the people who trained us?" asked the female Force Hunter. "Doesn't sound much different than where we are now."

"Maybe but I sense that you didn't have a choice with the Rakatans right? Probably taken from a young age, brutally trained to be what you are now but I sense great power within you two."

"Enough," demanded Xesh. "He's stalling us since he knows he can't fight us both for long."

Ralem cocked his head a little. "Perhaps. But I've been the only other real challenge for you two, haven't I? If you kill me now, where would that fun go?"

"And that's suppose to be enough to stop us from killing you?" countered Trill, scoffing at the young Je'daii. "You're cute and all but if you want us to defect from the Infinite Empire, you have to give us something in return."

"You already know what is required. There is nothing to fear." stated Ralem. The Je'daii Kage dropped from his golden Force Sage mode back to his base form, the only signs of gold rested within his eyes and on his armor. "The Over-Predor... Infinite Empire... Force Hounds... Republic... All fail. You alone find victory."

"Victory won't be mine until the last of the Je'daii fall at my feet." Xesh stated. The Force Hound was curious to see why the young Je'daii Kage was so confident in his ability to overthrow the Infinite Empire, though he partially knew the answer already.

"The Je'daii Order is not your concern. Your Empire is not worth saving, it will tear itself apart within a short time, and the Republic is not worth destroying, yet. There is a greater purpose awaiting us." Ralem turned his back towards the Force Hounds as he again observed the fight taking place in front of him. His mind and emotions raced hand in hand with his current dilemma; war and peace, life and death... Natural cycles of life that cannot be ordained by any mortal means.

"Why would you of all people want to destroy the Republic? You alone were the one who created it in the first place." asked Trill.

"I never fully placed my trust in the Republic in the first place. I designed it as a means to build an army against the Rakatans first and foremost, and after the Republic had claimed victory and the rest of the galaxy had sustained peace, the Je'daii Order would be heralded as war heroes. And who would dare deny a war hero his justly dues?"

"And I'm guessing that's where you and your Order would then rule the galaxy?" asked Xesh.

Ralem beamed proudly, a growing sense of confidence swelled in his chest. "Something like that, yes. However I won't force the galaxy into joining us, but then again they'd be a fool to not join us."

"So your entire plan hinges on this war and its outcome, and if you win the people of the galaxy would be so indebted to you that they follow you and your Order?" Trill repeated. She paused for a moment to recollect her thoughts. All the while Ralem observed the female Force Hunter; her beautiful white dread gracing her face, a strange crimson three-pronged tattoo on her face that covered part of her nose and her cheeks. The Je'daii Kage quickly noticed that she was wearing a stylized red armor and black gauntlets compared to Xesh's more earthy colors. Trill caught on to the Je'daii Kage's lustful glances, she smirked at him. She was proud of her body as well as her skills and powers.

"So what do yo say?" asked Ralem. He reached out his right arm in semblance of peace. "Will you kneel and pledge your loyalty to me? To rule the galaxy alongside me?"

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

 ** **Mortis****

Father sat on his knees in quiet meditation in his grand temple. He hadn't heard anything from his Son and Daughter in quite some time but he was sure they would be fine. Surprisingly they hadn't fought each other, though he was sure that Ralem's involvement had been the cause of such peace. At least for now. He wished that his son was with him, to see the beauty that Mortis held but alas he would have to wait, they both would have to.

"Well come on, I'm not going to bite you." spoke a playful female voice. Father opened his eyes to see a dark-skinned elderly Human female sitting off to his right side. Her face beamed with an antiquated sense of sarcastic wit and wonder-like joy, a rather odd combination that gave the woman a trickster vibe to her. "Let's get a look at you."

"Hello Mother. It's been a long time hasn't it?" greeted Father calmly.

"Too long I'm afraid, but look at you, my goodness. How are you?" Father nodded solemnly, he feared that this would happen but he was hoping it wouldn't be until later.

"I-"

"I know your not sleeping and that you've been getting weaker over the past millenniums. I never figured my baby would be suffering through heartbreak, then again given what happened between you and Abeloth, I thought you would have contemplated suicide."

"What do you want with Ralem?" Father asked. He knew that his mother would change the topic of conversation every now and then when he was younger. It was easier just to get straight to the point."

"Your actions regarding the creation of Ralem Solstice could have dire consequence on the quantum levels of balance in the galaxy, potentially the universe." a stern cold voice said. Father turned the other way to face a elderly Caucasian male with well-groomed snow-white hair and a white three-piece suit. The man's eyes were devoided of life, only what remained was logic and reasoning.

"Architect." greeted Father briefly. Father didn't look at the Architect directly in his eyes as he spoke. "Regarding the actions of Ralem Solstice, my son, given the current situation at hand with my children, I deemed it wise that a replacement should follow me after my demise."

"If that would be the case, then why is he out there fighting a war instead of under your tutelage?" questioned the Architect.

"He isn't strong enough to control my children in his current state, but soon he will be. All I need is time."

The Oracle watched the two converse in silence. Indeed the child had the potential to match his Father, given the right incentive and training. But she could have some kind of fun with this situation. "Time is a fun factor to play with. Give someone all the time in the world and they won't do anything, why not? What's going to happen? Given someone too little time, and it's a marvel to watch."

"It still doesn't answer my question: what do you want with Ralem?"

"The Celestials are concerned with what Ralem will become." Oracle explained.

"More accurately, you two are afraid of him." Father countered.

"No. I designed the galaxy to be the harmony of mathematical perfection. However each time the people were not happy with a utopian setting, so I rewrote the galaxy to match their ideal conditions." The Architect reached into his jacket and pulled out a pen, and clicking it once several dozen versions of Father surrounded them. "Your life is the remainder of an unbalanced equation inherit to the programming I designed. To which you already know. However with the arrival of Ralem, the balance is now balanced. But it will broken again once you pass, and back to step one. And while it remains a burden situationally avoided, it is not unexpected thus not beyond a measure of control."

"Which I was, the balance of Chaos and Order." stated Father.

"Until you created Ralem. In the endgame he will be the galaxy's undoing since he is the sum of the unbalanced equation, and I will have to program another sentient being to counteract this." explained the Architect.

"You don't have to do that. If you do, you'll have caused more chaos than you wish to have intended." begged Father. "Ralem is supposed to replace me, let him take my place once he is ready. After all you did design it to be that way."

The Architect rubbed his beard in thought, his mind calculating through millions and millions of possible timelines.

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

Ralem smiled as Xesh and Trill kneeled before him. He had two of the most powerful Force Hounds under his command. Now he only had one problem left: the Over-Predor.

"Rise." ordered Ralem, and the former Force Hounds complied. "You made a good choice in joining us."

"You made a rather compelling argument." Trill replied, a smile on her face as she took lustful glances at the Je'daii Kage.

"Focusing back at the matter at hand," Xesh commented, ignoring Trill's stares at Ralem. "If we focus our attention to the Predor, we can secure Coruscant as a headquarter."

"Can you track him down? He couldn't have gone too far, more than likely back to his ship." Ralem stated.

"I have an idea." Xesh smirked as he activated his Forcesaber, the purple hue darkening his smirk even more. Ralem frowned at the prospect as he reached for his lightsaber; he barely blocked the Forcesaber as Ralem stepped backward with his left foot.

"What are doing?!" shouted Ralem. The former Force Hound didn't reply as he proceeded to attack rather violently; fast and powerful slashes that the Je'daii Kage could barely handle. Xesh took the Je'daii's opening and stabbed the Je'daii through the stomach.

Ralem garbled intelligibly as the sheering pain in his stomach caused him to unfocus. His will prevented him to keel over and die, he couldn't die now. So close to his goal. With orange eyes glowing Ralem struggled back onto his feet, snarling at the Force Hound. However looking over Xesh's shoulder, he saw a pair of red eyes watching him. He immediately thought of the Son, but the eyes formed into partially a face. And what astounded the Je'daii was that the image looked somewhat like him.

The pain in his stomach soon became too overbearing and slumped backwards onto the floor; the last thing in his mind being the hellish of himself.

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

A sharp pain struck Ralem's cheek as he jostled himself awake. He weakly attempted to break himself free but the combination of his wound and energy bindings on his wrists and ankles prevented him. He adjusted his eyes and focused around him, apparently he was in some kind of interrogation cell. Ralem also noticed that he was hovering a bit above the ground.

Looking towards his hands, Ralem tried to use the Force to break himself free but the swooshing of the doors halted his efforts. Three beings waltzed through the corridor towards him; Xesh, Trill, and the Predor himself. The Je'daii snarled at the Force Hounds, the feeling of betrayal evident in his eyes.

The Predor halted in front of the Je'daii, his eyes observing him carefully. "Most impressive young Je'daii. Not many people can handle a Force Hound and live, let alone two. But I somehow expected more from you, such a disappointment."

Ralem seethed in silence as he refused to say anything to the Rakatan. From the corner of his eye the Je'daii noticed Xesh and Trill backing away from the Predor, walking over to some corner away from his sight; only to return a few seconds later with the Je'daii's lightsaber and Darksaber in question. Realization dawned onto the Je'daii as he finally figured out the reason why Xesh attacked him; to get close to the Predor for assassination.

If his mind wasn't clouded by anger at the moment he would probably agree that it was ingenious, if albeit dangerous.

"Even more disappointing is the fact that my warriors were able to capture and even kill some of you Je'daii." taunted the Predor. "I believe one of them cried for you as they ravaged her body again and again and again, moaning like a whore until they killed her."

The sickening grin on the Rakatan's face grew as the look of terror and anguish spread on Ralem's face, feeding off on the hate that began to brew within.

"No, no no." whimpered Ralem, his shoulders shook as soft sombers echoed in the chambers.

"I believe her name was... Kora." taunted Skal'nas. The Rakatan reached into his robes and pulled a small holo-device, a blue holo-image showing a mangled and decapitated corpse of a snow white Twi'lek. Deep shallow breaths came from the Je'daii as he faced the Rakatan, his eyes a blood orange lusting for revenge.

"NO!" roared Ralem as he Force crushed the restraints that held him prisoner and pushed the Predor across the room, causing the Rakatan to crash through the door. Ralem's Force Sage mode flickered off and on, as if unsure or somehow unable to comply to his command. The odd showing caused the former Force Hounds to back away, not wanting to face the upcoming wrath of the Je'daii Kage.

Reaching his hand out Ralem pulled his lightsaber and Darksaber from Xesh's hands, activating the signature golden and black colors. As tears flooded down his eyes, Ralem charged blindly down the corridor and attempted to strike down the Predor, only to be blocked by the red Forcesaber of the Rakatan.

"You dare to challenge me?! If you wish to die alongside your whore lover, then I can grant you that request!"

All inhibitions of self-worth flew out the window for the enraged Je'daii, at that moment he no longer cared about anything else; the war against the Rakatans, his own life, his destiny to bring the galaxy into balance, his Father's dream, even his loved ones and mother.

All that mattered was the thrill of the fight.

To feel the Rakatan's bones crackle and break beneath his fingers, to hear tormented screams of pain and misery. To bring his own tormented soul to the Rakatan, make him suffer the way he had suffered. But that little amount of physical would do little quench the broken soul of a man.

Ralem continued to slash and hack at the Rakatan, throwing his entire weight into each single attack. The former Force Hounds stared in awe at the level of speed from this god-like being. To them, they would disappear and then reappear in flashes; the only signs of their existence came from the continuous lights of their lightsabers and Forcesaber.

Xesh noticed that Ralem was going all offensive with his strikes, no defensive countermeasures. As if he no cares whether or not he got himself killed, apparently the death of his lover caused him that much grief. He dared to imagine what the Je'daii's hellish fury would be like if he discovered that all his loved ones were killed; he shuddered at the mere implication, the Je'daii Kage could probably end the Infinite Empire himself if that was true.

The Rakatan Predor landed a successful kick to Ralem's face, the Je'daii recuperating with a backflip gaining some distance between the two. Both Force users panted heavily, the sweat on Ralem's brow dripped down his face as he contemplated his next move. He internally smiled at himself, he felt good. Using his dark emotions definitely boosted his power and...

His breathing slowed as Ralem realized what he was doing, what he was becoming. He was supposed to be physical embodiment of balance and what was he doing? He ignored these thoughts as his internal dilemma spiraled deeper. He was doing the right thing, nothing with using either dark emotions or light emotions, as long as the job was done. He knew damned well that Kora would do the exact same thing if the situation was reversed, any of his loved ones would.

But he also realized that his brother's warnings could be coming true because of Ralem's actions. No more than they already have, he mused. Inhaling through his nose, Ralem calmed his mind and soul before twirling both his lightsaber and Darksaber in a reverse grip, a rather imposing stance if not potentially reckless.

"It is flattering, really." spoke Skal'nas. Ralem narrowed his eyes from the obnoxious voice coming from the Rakatan, but he heeded to the words anyway. "You feeling such dread at the prospect of getting what I want."

'Thwarting you has been my primary ambition after all, though who doesn't like to see their enemies succeed every now and then?" countered Ralem. Skal'nas chuckled at the words of the Je'daii.

"Poor choices coming from the boy who was so close to cutting my head off because of what happened to his whore. You're so right though," stated the Predor Rakatan and as he sheathed his Forcesaber back onto his person, he placed his hands on his stomach in a regal fashion, sauntering over to the poised Je'daii. "For example, when you slaughtered my brother back on Tython those years ago, if I'm going to be honest, I did feel an inescapable sense of... _Enjoyment_ , on my part."

As Ralem stared into the dark crimson eyes of the Rakatan now in front of him, he questioned whether or not to strike him down where he stood. But he had a bad feeling that what the Rakatan was going to say was probably something Ralem needed to hear.

"Luckily, I have a friend who wants to try something new," Skal'nas walked away from the Je'daii, a devious smile on his face as his mind contemplated the future of upcoming events. "Something daring. And he was _so_ grateful to me for providing this ' _fresh experience'_."

Taking his words in stride Ralem sheathed his weapons and placed them back on his belt, walking over to the Rakatan until he was a few feet away, his face contorted with inquisitive confusion. "I did what I did for the good of the galaxy."

" _The galaxy_?" mocked Skal'nas, his face showing his annoyance at the Je'daii's naive belief. "Do you know what the Republic is? Of course you do, you designed it yourself. A story that we agree to tell we each other over and over until we forget that it's a _lie_. You know you're not that different from myself in that aspect, the difference is that I'm honest about what I am."

"But what do we have left once we abandon the lie? Chaos, a gaping pit waiting to swallow us all?"

"Chaos isn't a pit, chaos is a _ladder_." retorted Skal'nas. Blinking absently at the bold declaration, Ralem's eyes widen a little as he took a step back. "Many who try to climb it fail. Never get to try again. The fall breaks them. And some are given the chance to climb, but they refuse. They cling to the galaxy; for the gods, for love... Illusions. Only the ladder is real, the climb is all there is."

The piercing hot feel of a lightsaber plunging deep inside his chest was the last feeling Skal'nas had before falling onto the floor. The low hum of Ralem's blade barely reverberated across the chamber as he sheathed it, the swooshing echoing even louder.

 _A friend_

What kind of friendship did the Rakatan Predor have that said friend would be "grateful" for? And what worried Ralem was that the galaxy was still an undiscovered place; who knows what the Rakatans discovered in their journeys.

Directing his attention to Xesh and Trill, the Je'daii Kage strolled over to their position and sucker punched Xesh straight in the jaw. Unexpecting the vast strength behind the punch, Xesh fell flat on his back several feet away from Ralem.

"That's for stabbing and almost killing me." glowered Ralem. Xesh rubbed his jaw and chuckled at the action.

"I had to make it convincing somehow. Besides it worked in the end didn't it?" commented Xesh.

Ralem trailed his hand across his face. "Whatever. Just help me find where they are."

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

Almost half of the Je'daii Council that Ralem cared for died on that day; Kora, Tem Madog, Quan-Jang, Daegen Lok, Hawk Ryo, and Ketu. Even Arden Lynn perished on that day, Ralem's beautiful queen.

In fact it was probably easier to say who lived, given how small they were; his mother, Lanoree, Gra'pa, and Te Sol'yc Mand'alor.

Coruscant was left in ruins, absurd amount of dead bodies littered the streets comprised of men, women, and children. All dying for the peace and balance. All because of him. But he knew the consequences, or so he thought. Perhaps he was thinking too selfishly to think no one that he loved or cared about would die.

Over the course of the past week did little to ease his broken heart. Ralem isolated himself away from the others locking himself in his room. Meditating all by himself day and night, he didn't eat, sleep, or anything during that time. Using the art of the floating meditation Ralem hovered a few feet above the floor, his armor placed neatly on his bed and his weapons on the nightstand next to the bed.

Calm the nerves, calm the mind, calm the body, calm the soul. Breathe in, breathe out. He started to forgive himself but something was halting him. What happens if he actually succeeded in his plans? If he actually did bring balance to the galaxy? More importantly, what about the Son and Daughter?

The door to his room opened as his mother entered adoring her Mandalorian armor, her face holding concern. Ralem turned around to face her and upon seeing her, he ceased his meditation and stretched his legs onto the floor. Seeing her son's surprisingly sculpted body caused the Mandalorian woman to gaze shamelessly. She was a Mandalorian, and a Mandalorian desires strength amongst all things.

The two didn't say anything for a brief moment, their thoughts reflecting to the unexpected kiss before the Infinite Empire attack a week ago. The Je'daii licked his bottom in a afterthought, her lips were soft and firm. His eyes caught noticed of his mother's lips even now, in fact, he thought she was wearing lipstick.

Revanna likewise observed Ralem's body, noticing the large scar on his chest from where he was stabbed. Frankly she was happy that Ralem didn't fix it, or that he couldn't, she wasn't entirely sure how powerful her son had become with the Force. She smiled softly at the memory almost four years ago before he disappeared. But what hardened her smile was that her son became a man without her, a mother's duty was to take care of their children. And here he was now, practically ruling the galaxy as it were within a blink.

Bitter thoughts flooded her mind, thoughts of neglecting her son...

Strong arms wrapped around her as she was brought into her son's chest, though given the slight difference in height between the two, it was more like Ralem brought himself to her chest. She recuperated the hug, taking the earthy scent of the Je'daii and buried her face in the crook of his neck.

Emotions grew between the two as Ralem traced his hands down his mother's hips. It seemed even after given birth to him, Revanna retained her figure nicely. Feeling her son run his hands across her body, Revanna smirked in kind and kissed his neck. Those soft lips on his neck riled the Je'daii as his lustful desires soon overtook him, as well as his darker emotions, and he soon grasped Revanna's ass tightly.

A loud erotic moan erupted from those lustful lips and Ralem took the first opportunity to ensnare her lips with his own. The cold armor felt nice against his heated chest as neither mother or son gave way during their lustful battle for dominance, causing them to eventually crash onto the bed as pieces of his armor clattering onto the ground.

Having the top advantage Revanna straddled her son's hips, smirking in triumph.

Ralem sat forward, pushing her a bit away from him. He kissed his mother on the lips. His hands slipping under her breastplate, gently cupping where the female organ would lay. As Revanna's head drifted back, letting Ralem devour her throat next, they were being watched by a certain female Force Hound and could see the Mandalorian's face bent beyond Ralem's slender back. She had a look of soft enjoyment on it. She turned around. Snuggled closer to Ralem, Revanna slid her hands behind the Je'daii's back, over his tightly muscled ass.

She pulled him closer as she divested him of his clothing. Trill could see his powerful muscles, his smooth body, and her heart raced in well-practiced rhythm.

"This is it," Ralem said, gently running his hands through his mother's hair and enjoying it as much as Revanna did. "You're sure?"

"Yes," Revanna said.

Ralem nodded. He hadn't expected her to back out. "Ever wondered what it would be like?"

Revanna smiled shyly, her eyes flashing a kind of innocence that just made him hotter. "Ever since that kiss."

He undressed her as they kissed again, clever hands puzzling out her armored garment fast, learning exactly where to untangle or unclasp to free her body. Trill found herself short of breath as she saw Revanna's body joining Ralem's in nudity. Her powerful body, tall and smooth, flowing from beauty to muscle without interruption. Soft, supple limbs with neat lines of muscular definition, hard abs below soft breasts, powerful thighs above clean, delicate calves. Trill loved her own body, its excesses, its voluptuousness, but she loved the variety as well—the classical magnificence, the unadorned beauty of Revanna's slenderness and elegance.

And Ralem—it was no wonder she lusted for him when they first met. His beauty was of a kind with Revanna's, gentle and artistic, a warrior's body so well-designed as to be a work of sculpture. Trill adored watching Revanna's hands lave over it, enjoying it as much as she had, but the two hadn't embraced for long before they had slipped to the bed, their clothes everywhere around them, in wild disarray around their lithe young bodies.

Trill's breath came in a heavy pant, matching Revanna's as Ralem mounted her. The light was dim now, the partial sunlight reflected off the room doing little to part the darkness. But Trill could see well enough, and the dimness made their naked flesh stand out in brighter contrast, dark and supple as a painting in shades of black.

She stepped closer to them as they devoured each other, not sure who she envied more. The cold tiles of the floor were trampled under her bare feet, pointedly reminding her of the contrasting heat gathering at her sex. Trill's hands shook slightly. She did not know if she could continue to take the temptation of seeing them together. She didn't feel any jealousy, any resentment of them together—only the fondest wish to join in, to make them even happier by caressing them as she knew both of them desired.

For a minute, Trill closed her eyes and just listened. Ralem's impassioned grunts were unmistakable, revealing what the sight of him could not. His powerful manhood was no longer between their bodies, but inside Revanna , pleasing her in long, well-trained strokes. Revanna's soft sighs showed she was receiving him as well. Trill's honed ears could ever make out the soft liquid whisper of Ralem's phallus going into Revanna's gently flowing sex. Trill's hands clenched into fists at her sides. Tonight, the powerful embrace of sweat-drenched bodies wasn't for her.

Ralem's grunts deepened. She heard the sharp slap of their bodies meeting, the pat of Revanna's body being rocked against their discarded clothing. And the soft husk of Ralem whispering in Revanna's ear, almost demanding that his lover feel pleasure.

"Mother… Mom… your cunt's so tight… feels like a hand in a mink glove… gripping me tighter… tighter…"

Trill could just see Revanna's smile, a little embarrassed and a lot amused as she relaxed and gave in, allowing herself the pleasure she was being offered. "And your cock's filling me up like your ass in that damn suit… I can feel you _twitch_ inside me," she whispered, gleefully tittering. "Never knew I turned you on that much."

"Like hell you didn't," Ralem hissed, his commanding voice making Trill _clench._ "You know you do. You're just about the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

"Just about?" she teased.

"I see you, I see Lanoree, I see Cortana… I can't decide. You're too damn perfect. I'm just happy I know all of you."

The compliment just made Revanna tease him harder. "And Trill…"

"Can you blame for having great taste in women?"

"A little."

In the darkness of her closed eyes, Trill was helpless not to see Ralem and Revanna as she'd imagine them in her fantasies: fucking her. Ralem on top of her, smiling excitedly as she met his rhythm like they were performing an acrobat act together—Revanna's beautiful cunt above her as the Mandalorian used her face as a throne—Ralem spread out between her wide thighs and grimacing as she rode him, trying to hold in all the pleasure she gave him—Revanna actually fucking Trill's tits, straddling her chest and clamping her thighs around one of Trill's beautiful breasts, frotting against the warm expanse of flesh trapped upon her cunt until that delicious wetness was all over Trill's breast, waiting to be suckled away—In her ecstatic imaginings, Trill had actually ignored the real-life lovemaking before her. It took a passionate sigh from Ralem to pull her back to reality. "Mmmm… you're going to squeeze me flat if you keep tightening your cunt like that…"

"Never. You're too big. I've never felt a guy as big as you… No guy really. It's nice… so nice…"

"Really? I thought a woman of your beauty would have men raining around you."

"I never said that, it's just... I felt none of them were worthy of my affections."

"And I am?"

Revanna turned her head over her shoulder and pressed her lips gently against the Je'daii's. "So far you're doing a _marvelous_ job!"

"Ready for more?"

"More!?"

"Faster?"

"Yes. Yes! I need it, let me have every lovely inch… _I want all of you inside me!_ "

A miniature orgasm, a little-little death, engulfed Trill as she heard Revanna's impassioned cry. It took some of the pressure from her tightening cunt, but her body insisted there was more, something better in store for her that she had to possess. Tremors of want went through Trill's flesh as she was surprised by just how filthy, how perverted her two friends could be all on their own. Or were they doing it for her? The thought forced Trill's eyes open. What she saw made her shake, even as her little climax ebbed away…

Revanna was on all fours, beautiful, lustful face turned toward Trill, unknowingly, as Ralem had her from behind. Her ass was up in the air, her face pressed low to the sheets of the bed, so Trill could see the slow, deliberate movement of Ralem's hips behind her, his cock emerging drenched and glistening in the pale light, then returning to the warmth of her glistened body. Despite that tightness, Ralem fucked all the way into her.

His hips working slowly back and forth like some machine, pushing Revanna's fervor until she wouldn't be able to hold back her orgasm any longer… giving Trill plenty of time to join them.

Instinctively, Trill's hand reached between her legs. She was wet, and parting her clothing only made her feel wetter, the coolness of the tiled floor extravagant on her damp pussy. She touched herself, fingers warm and small inside her. She wasn't satisfied, certainly not in the same way Revanna was being satisfied by Ralem's hard-driving cock.

Revanna stared at Trill fucking herself for the first time, wanted to inspire her, wanted to beat her. A silent competition between the two women commenced without even Ralem's knowledge. "Ralem! Fuck me harder! Fuck me like her! I want to feel all of your _cock_!"

Ralem didn't answer, but his tempo picked up. Jackhammering downward into Revanna's trapped body. Trill was tall enough to see. The way Revanna's labia parted for him, the way her walls clutched at his buried length, the way her fingers clawed at the silk sheets.

And Trill watched as Ralem truly fucked her. Sweat all over his body, making him look like an oiled gladiator, a god. His cock slipping almost all the way out of Revanna with every stroke, promising Trill the same length when he was finished with Revanna.

Trill's own fingers suddenly seemed inadequate. She was thrusting three of them inside herself, but it didn't work, not when Revanna was being taken from behind, enjoying her man's cock. That was what Trill needed. Not fingers—a cock.

Or something like one.

Trill groped over her body, coming to the fibula that fastened her robes. Its cool ivory handle was large, thick, much like the phallus she could see sinking deeper and deeper inside of Revanna. She heard a mutual gasp—Ralem's deep, hard penetration of Revanna coming to its zenith. Revanna's wetness, her parting, sounded like water behind a dam. Trill didn't miss a single detail, seeing it all and imagining it was her with that hard, throbbing length inside herself.

Her robe gaping open, fibula in hand, Trill pressed the phallic broach against her own labia. The coldness was blunt, but sensual. Her entire body responded to it in excited shivers. With slow pressure, she parted herself, still watching as Ralem fucked with ragged gasps into Revanna's willing, needing body.

Where Trill gripped the fibula, she now felt the wetness of the juices she was drenching it with. A little more pressure. It parted her inner lips. Ralem was furiously driving into Revanna's cunt, showing no sign of slowing. Trill pushed. The fibula was all the way up her cunt in a moment, its bulbous end spreading apart her tensed walls, letting her moan with her own pleasure, sensation ripped from her sex. It moved, almost on its own, back and forth inside her, warming with the friction of her masturbation.

Revanna threw herself backward against Ralem's body, still impaled by him, reaching behind herself to his muscular back as he pumped into her standing body. Her fingers raked red welts into his skin, neither seeming to notice. "You're big, you're so goddamn _biiiig!"_

"Only the best for you, Mom, only the best!" Ralem said, arms wrapped around Revanna as he fucked her standing up, veins standing out in bold relief all over her body. He kissed her roughly, then forced her head towards Trill, now sensing her presence in the Force, making their eyes meet. And upon sensing her presence, Ralem opened the door fully with the Force and dragged the former Force Hound the same into the room. Trill shoved the fibula into herself faster, seeing Revanna's arousal, her nearness to climax. To Ralem.

Revanna came, her scream of need and fulfillment muffled by Ralem's mouth closing over hers. Her entire body arched and twitched, dancing for Revanna's watchful eyes: hips bucking, twisting, enticing Ralem's manhood as far inside herself as she could.

She wanted more.

The instant her orgasm was more cool than hot, she was pleading. "Give to me again! Make me come again! I need it so bad!"

Ralem threw Revanna down on her back, immediately covering her supine form with his own body. For the first time, Trill felt a flicker of jealousy, but killed it when she heard Revanna's shriek of ecstasy. They were lost in each other now, no longer able to share their pleasure with her when they were so gluttonous for it themselves, but Trill was glad just to be able to see such a private thing, an intimate thing. They weren't performing for her now, simply sharing in each other's bodies.

Awash in sweat, Ralem panted and grunted as he delivered himself to Revanna's eagerly waiting sex, her legs shooting up and wrapping around his waist, Trill able to see his cock as it was devoured again and again by Revanna's insatiable cunt. She pushed the fibula even further up into herself. Its slightly bulbous head could've been the tip of a cock, just like the one that had Revanna spread so wantonly beneath Ralem. Filled, stretched, growing weak at the knees, Trill watched Revanna's hips hunch up to receive Ralem, swallowing every inch of his furious erection, closed so tightly around it as to never let it loose.

"Your cunt's too much," Ralem husked, burying his face in Revanna's dark brown hair. "Milking me dry… I just can't, _unh_ , hold back much longer!"

"Ohh, yes!" Revanna moaned, raining kisses up onto her son's face as he grunted and strained for her. "Your cock makes me feel like such a woman!"

Shoulders bowing, Ralem dove back inside Revanna, the Yashan-Mandalorian shrugging off the full impact of his body against hers, feeling only his prick inside her. Trill felt her own sex burning with desire. She masturbated herself even faster, keeping up with the tempo she was so avidly watching.

The fibula was almost too slippery to hang onto now, all of it soaked in her juices. Maintaining the same rhythm as Ralem with Revanna was becoming impossible. Her hands were shaking too hard, her whole body demanding sexual release. She felt it building up inside her, melted warmth spread through her loins, a raging fire in her cunt. It could consume her entire body, a wildfire. She wanted it to.

She almost looked away from Ralem and Revanna's coupling, their reach for a second orgasm, the sight of her own masturbation that enticing. But Ralem and Revanna were just a little bit more alluring. She wanted to share in their pleasure however she could. So she watched Revanna thrash around like a wild animal trapped in a snare, saw Ralem's thick cock find its target again and again, vanish into Revanna's cunt each time. It was a gorgeous organ. Trill wanted it for herself, but she wanted it for Revanna just as bad.

The fibula no longer felt cool or inanimate. It felt like flesh, hot and hard, full of desire for her. There was nothing held back. She knew she would join her erstwhile lovers in ecstasy. She watched Ralem reach underneath Revanna, grab two big handfuls of her milky white ass, grip her hard. Pull up against his cock as he deflowered her, he went that deep.

Revanna came. Her scream proud and satisfied, the need flogged from it, replaced with the power of her pleasure.

Around Trill, the universe shattered. Her body was seized, her mind not her own, but consumed by pleasure. She fell through it, her vision blacked out for what seemed like hours, coming back to herself weak and gasping, barely able to stand. She pulled the fibula from her sex and immediately dropped it from her leaden fingers. She wanted to follow it down to the ground, give in to intoxicating gravity, but the sight of Ralem and Revanna held her captive.

There was no more technique in either of them. Simply animal mating. Revanna, reaching her third orgasm, spoke as delight so intense it was practically torture.

"Keep it up, keep it in me, keep _fucking!"_

"Yes!" Ralem moaned out in agreement. " _Yesss!_ "

Trill was amazed by his stamina. She had no idea how he was still fucking a woman as beautiful as Revanna. She probably figured it was due to his previous experiences with the other female Je'daii...

Revanna reached up to Ralem, as Trill would've loved to, her slender fingers stroking over his bulging muscles. She hoped they'd enjoyed the discovery of each other. Trill would've loved to be there, experiencing Ralem for the first time, legs spread wide, sex split open for his driving cock. Enjoying the pleasures of his body as he would be enjoying the pleasures of her.

"Your cunt's sucking me," Ralem moaned, "sucking me dry."

"So come," Revanna told him. "Trill sure did!"

 _They hadn't forgotten her._

"Your cunt!" Ralem gasped. "Here it comes, right in your cunt, here it is!"

They were both coming then, Revanna arching her back as Ralem drove forward, spurt after spurt filling Revanna's pussy, her body accepting it as a desert takes water. Their bodies rolled over and over before Trill, locked together at the groin, still fucking. Revanna cried out her passion once more. Then limply collapsed against Ralem as he too allowed himself to relax, head drifting back, eyes shutting, the veins that had stood out so prominently on his angry red body now relaxing underneath his creamy skin.

On unsteady feet, Trill walked forward.

Ralem pulled his mother up to his chest, close enough to kiss, and stroked her hair with what little strength he had. "You're the best, darling, just the best."

And Revanna snuggled closer, running her long fingers over his chest. "And you're the greatest fuck in the galaxy."

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Trill asked, struggling out of her robe as she fell beside them. With two of them there, she had plenty of space to lie down on, and with her robe, she could wrap it over all of them.

"He'll get to you in a moment," Revanna told her. "Rest is probably on his mind right now."

"Mmmm." Ralem looked to Trill. "Amongst other things."

Trill smiled. She laid upon Ralem, crushing her breasts against his chest. "And so are you… so nice… so good…"

This was the first time she had lain beside him, but there was something desperately exotic about him now—wet with the sweat of another woman, the smell of her, and that same woman right beside them, marked by him as well. But she found herself wondering, as if for the first time… what would it be like when he kissed her, his tongue entering her mouth, stroking along her tongue, carrying with it the taste of Revanna?

She moved in to find out.

Trill had ended up greatly enjoying watching in lieu of participating. It was a more refined, cleaner, sophisticated experience, being a part of the motion of naked body sliding against naked body, yet removed from it.

She didn't know that Lanoree was watching, listening.

Lanoree watched closely as Ralem pulled away Trill's bra, his fingers moving in her sex, tiny circles as he bared her large breasts and tweaked her nipples. With his other hand, he slid the panties off her hips.

With her current position, Lanoree could see everything—even the fingers inside Trill's pussy. Their gentle kisses, the soft sighs, the little whispered entreaties. They all fell together like notes in a symphony. Lanoree enjoyed the naughtiness of the sound. She was learning how fun it was too.

 ** **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-****

Three weeks had past and with the recent attack on Coruscant, if the Republic were onboard with the idea of a Galactic Army before, well, no words were suffice to any sentient beings now. The demands of such an army couldn't be filled fast as every bodied creature were suiting up to face the Infinite Empire and eradicate them completely from existence.

In that allotted time Ralem had done much soul searching, trying to at least forgive himself for his failures, for Kora. Even with Lanoree's compliance and aid, the Je'daii still felt a lingering sense of sorrow; something that would probably haunt him to his death. Until Lanoree became about fed up with his attitude, finally confronting him and with some tough love, told him that what he was feeling wasn't sorrow. Saying that he was only convincing himself of his deeds but not believing any of it.

Needless to say a fight broke out between the two lovers, and eventually Lanoree convinced Ralem that until he _truly_ forgive himself, he couldn't be trusted to handle the Je'daii Order. That ultimatum nearly broke Ralem, not of anger or fury, but something else. Surprisingly, with no reluctance, Ralem withdrew from Coruscant; not telling anyone of his departure however.

Taking his Hunter-class starfighter, which was graciously paid for by the founding members of the only ship-building corporation the galaxy known as Kuat Drive Yards by a group of aristocrats calling themselves The Ten, Ralem traveled deep into the Corellian Trade Spine route; an unexplored sector of the six trade routes the Je'daii Order and the Republic had discovered the past three weeks.

During that time of silence Ralem meditated, truly meditated, on his grievances. Kora, Arden, his friends on the Council...

He placed his head into his hands and breathed methodically and smoothly, tired of the onslaught of emotions that plagued him. As he leaned back into his seat the looming pale-blue color of the blinding stars at lightspeed ease his worries. He was always fascinated by the stars. He still remembered during his trip on the Tho Yor ship where he first met Cortana, the stars blanketing the vast back emptiness of space.

The Je'daii smiled softly, perhaps Lanoree was right; maybe he was being too pathetic, well not by her exact words, he mused, but probably all the same anyway. He couldn't always blame himself, nor would it change anything. She was dead and so were a majority of the Je'daii Council, he would have to accept. He probably couldn't prevent anymore deaths even if he wanted, it was war. War and death go hand in hand. With the little solace he scrounged up for himself, Ralem rested his arm and head on the side arm of his seat and closed his eyes to rest.

 ** **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-****

A strange sight caught the attention of the Aing-Tii, a species of sentient, toothless mammals who stood about two meters tall on average. And what caught their attention was a bright streak of light glossing across their skies, and that streak started to come closer to where they lived. Eventually the object in question crashed not too far away from the closest sign of civilization, and upon the Aing-Tii that quickly got to the crash site saw a unusual child dressed in gold armor and black underarmor pry himself free of the crashed starfighter.

Ralem stumbled out of the cockpit and landed on his knees, not entirely sure what caused his ship to malfunction. It couldn't have been an asteroid...

Glancing up from the ground the Je'daii realized he landed near a village, and a group of strange creatures surrounded him. He noticed that they stood erect on two clawed feet, and they had two spindly arms, each with three large digits. Their bodies were covered entirely in jointed protective coverings of white, bony plates, which extended past their necks and onto their heads, where they appeared to operate as helmets of some kind.

Speaking of heads, Ralem observed that their heads were small and jutted out perpendicularly from their chest. Followed with two very large eyes and a series of long, thin tongues that were extended half a meter from their mouths. Along with a long, prehensile tail that trailed behind them.

These creatures watched the Je'daii with some kind of amusement in their eyes, and as Ralem propped himself proper on his feet the creatures didn't seem fazed. Cracking his neck side to side to ease the pressure building up there, Ralem turned around to observe his ship; a little scrapped up here and there, wasn't too bad. Personally he was kind of surprised of the outcome, he figured that the ship would be in worse condition...

And he spoke too soon. As he walked towards the back of his ship Ralem quickly noticed large showers of sparks spraying outward. That wasn't good.

Sighing in agitation Ralem ran his hand through his hair as he contemplated on what to do next. Figuring the worse Ralem used the Force to levitate the ship from the ground, the starfighter hovering several feet over his head as he searched for any other signs of damage. Thankfully everything else seemed fine, and placing the starfighter back onto the ground, the Je'daii Kage braced for some reaction from the native people.

Some expressions of shock came across the people but not as much as he figured, prompting Ralem to conclude that they must have some knowledge of the Force on their own. He would be lying to say that he wasn't expecting it.

One member of their clan stepped forth towards the Je'daii, making Ralem suggest that this one was the leader.

*It seems you have been blessed by _Those Who Dwell Beyond the Veil_ with the power of the Force, young one. Come, let us help repair your ship and welcome you to our home.* the creature spoke.

Ralem paused for a moment, letting the Force translate what the creature said to him before attempting to converse. *I'm deeply flattered by your hospitality, but can you tell me where I am? I seemed to have crashed my ship for some odd reason and I need to know where I am so that I may return safely to my home.*

*As to where you are, the only information I can tell you is that you seemed to have flown your ship through the Kathol Rift within the Kathol sector. I'm afraid I can't tell you more, we Aing-Tii guard our privacy very closely.*

Ralem nodded in understanding. *I see. Hopefully I didn't stray too far from the Corellian Trade Spine. Again thank you.* He paused for a moment as he realized he forgot his manners. *I'm terribly sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Ralem Solstice.*

*Tadar'Ro.* greeted the Aing-Tii. *We never got any visitors here before, so forgive us if we don't exactly explain a lot of things to you.*

The Je'daii paused at the rather blunt message but took it in stride. *That's fine, I understand. I'm usually not the talkative type myself.*

*It takes away from the beauty of listening to the Force doesn't it?* said Tadar'Ro, chuckling softly as the two traveled deeper into the village. *Given your recent abilities with your ship, I can sense a deeper power within you. You must have been deeply blessed by _Those Who Dwell Beyond the Veil_.*

*And I'm guessing they are your deities?* asked Ralem.

*Yes, though I should warn you about using the Force, it is sacred and something that is not to be meddled with. We spend out entire lives performing errands for our gods, traveling through the dangerous Kathol Rift- which we also view as a holy place- and perform pilgrimages in the hope that we will receive "an answer" from them* explained the Aing-Tii.

*Sounds familiar, we Je'daii perform a similar task on Tython- a pilgrimage- but we don't hurl ourselves through a rift of space to gain our answers.* stated Ralem half-amusingly.

*How does a Je'daii receive their answers then?*

*Well,* Ralem recollected his thoughts for a moment. This was probably the first time that he could recall where he could have a philosophical conversation with someone, perhaps he could gain some insight with another point of view. *The Je'daii believe in the prospect of balance- keeping the Light and Dark side in check. But it's not the light or dark of the Force, rather it's the internal struggle within that we combat.*

*Black and white,* mused Tadar'Ro shaking his head slightly. *A rather boring and narrow-minded view of the Force and life don't you think?*

*And grey...* countered Ralem.

*Oh course, grey, such a lively color.* contended Tadar'Ro. Ralem inhaled a little as he ignored the sardonic comment.

*Alright then, what do you guys believe in? That the Force is made up of a bunch of colors?* inquired the Je'daii.

*A rainbow of colors actually,* replied Tadar'Ro. *Black, white, and grey are such dull colors and are insults to what life represents- everyone has their own pallet of colors for their own paintings, for their own markings on life.*

*Rather ironic given that your people are predominately black and white.* joked Ralem.

A deep laughter erupted from the Aing-Tii's chest. *The irony is not lost to me young one. But I can tell that you have quite a thirst of knowledge, which is good. However I wish to know more about these Je'daii that you speak of.*

*What happened to the idea of " _We never got any visitors here before, so forgive us if we don't exactly explain a lot of things to you._ " part?* retorted Ralem.

*Fair enough.* And they walked in silence for the next few minutes, allowing Ralem to observe the landscape around him. It was rather beautiful, though he realized that he everywhere he looked it was black, white, and grey. He rubbed his eyes to make sure...

*Alright you made your point. Can you please return my eyesight to normal?* demanded Ralem. Immediately his eyesight became colored and the sudden blast of it stung his eyes. So bright and intimate... Ralem groaned as he covered his eyes for a time before he slowly uncovered his eyes. *Why?! How?!*

*You tell me. Though I can sense some trouble within you, some emotional troubles.*

*That's putting it mildly,* grumbled Ralem, his eyes adjusting quickly to the sudden tonal shift color. *I... I lost people that I cared about.*

*And you feel responsible for their deaths?*

Ralem looked away at the Aing-Tii in guilt. That was the question: was he really responsible for their deaths? Naturally he thought so, he was the Je'daii Kage after all. It was his duty to lead his people.

*Such a trying dilemma; with all that power deep inside you, you couldn't prevent them from dying. A shame I assume.* Ralem's golden eyes darkened at the potentially mocking comment, or his anger was making it seem mocking. *As I mentioned earlier the Aing-Tii believe that the Force is inherited of a multitude of colors, each color having its own meaning. However there's always more than one meaning to any given situation, for example red is considered an angry color but it can also represent a passionate color, of love.*

*How does that me get over my guilt?*

*It doesn't, that's not my job. You're the one carrying the guilt, you find the solution. But I will say this- you must unlearn what you have learned.* Ralem frowned at the unusual advice. As the Je'daii mused over the particular phrasing, Tadar'Ro and Ralem arrived at their destination. *Gather what supplies you need and repair your ship. And when you leave, _do not_ tell anyone of our existence.*

*You have my word.* agreed Ralem. The Je'daii gathered his supplies and walked out of the building only to find his ship in front of him. He nearly dropped the equipment as he stared in awe at the sight. His ship was originally at the edge of the village, and now, it was right in front of him. It just- teleported, somehow.

"H-How? I don't... I don't believe it!" exclaimed Ralem

* _That_ is why you fail.* stated Tadar'Ro calmly.

*What kind of technique did you use?*

Tadar'Ro looked towards the ship then towards the Je'daii. *We called it Fold-Space, an ability to teleport any object within a certain size anywhere we desire. A rather useful tool our monks discovered.*

Ralem gaped at the ship in wonder. *Incredible...*

*I figured to make it easier on your travel back to the ship, that I would bring the ship to you.* explained the Aing-Tii. As Tadar'Ro beginning to leave the Je'daii to his business, Ralem in front of him.

*Please, you have to teach me.* pleaded Ralem, his eyes swelling with tears and pain clearly straining his voice. *I-I can't do this on my own. I've tried to convince myself that I was ready for what I was prepared to do, but... I can't.*

The Aing-Tii stood in silence as he saw the child in front of him beg with pathetic eyes. *Repair your ship and leave.*

While Ralem watched the Aing-Tii leave him, he turned towards the Je'daii with one final sentence. *If you wish to learn our ways, then stay. If not, then leave.*

 ** **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-****

The Je'daii had finished repairing his ship a few hours ago and sat in a meditative position, his legs crossed neatly as the upper parts of his armor placed next to his side. During that time Tadar'Ro had agreed to train him what he knew, amongst a few abilities that Ralem had only heard but not seen.

One of these abilities the Aing-Tii had described as Flow-walking, it allowed the user to view the past and the future. When one used flow-walking, they could change a person's perspective of the past, but the not past itself. Or that's how Tadar'Ro explained it.

 _*When you drop a pebble into a river, what happens? There's a splash, and then the splash disappears. The splash is real, but the river doesn't change. It continues on just the same.*_ Tadar'Ro used that metaphor to explain the nature of flow-walking, hoping it would ease the Je'daii's pain in someway, so that Ralem could look back to the present then hopefully move forward.

Ralem caught quick to the technique and sat where he was now; reflecting back to the past for hours now. Ralem opened his eyes and rubbed the dry streaks of tears from his cheeks, truly free of his own guilt. Drawing a shaky breath, Ralem smiled tiredly at the Aing-Tii who sat patiently in front of him.

*I guess life is more than dull colors huh? Not as simple as I wish it to be.* Ralem asked.

Tadar'Ro mused thoughtfully at the statement. *Hmm, I would say life is simple but people can make it either a blessing or a curse.*

*Right, anyway I want to deeply thank you for helping me.* Ralem stated gratefully, and he was grateful.

Tadar'Ro nodded once. *Now let's commence with your training with the Fold8Space technique, take the rock that's next to you and concentrate on it.*

*And where will it go once I do all that?*

*Where you wish it to be. I must warn you though that sending an item is easy, but receiving said item is difficult. Fortunately once you able to retrieve that item, it'll be easy to do so later.* explained Tadar'Ro. Ralem obeyed and grabbed the rock in his palm, concentrating his power onto the rock. His mind flashed to where his starfighter was, and opening his eyes, the rock remained in his palms.

Repeating the process again, Ralem concentrated onward of hours until he opened his eyes. It was almost sunset and the rock was still in front of him. He also discovered that Tadar'Ro was gone, most likely to get something to eat if he had to guess.

One final time.

He had to try one final time, he had some so far now. Suddenly the rock vanished from his hand, to where it possibly laid on the ship. His heart swelled at finally accomplishing his goal, though now that he thought about it he usually accomplished whatever he had his mind on at the last minute. Kind of odd...

Now the hard part. Ralem concentrated through the Force and few seconds later the rock plopped onto his hand. He smiled gleefully at his success and placed his armor back on.

"Hm, I wonder if..." whispered Ralem. If he was now able to teleport objects, could he possibly teleport himself? And if he could, then could transport himself anywhere he wished, or at least where he was familiar with.

"So I see you have improved your skills my son." spoke a familiar voice. Ralem turned to see his Father standing beside him, disguising himself as his son. Like back at the cave on Ilum.

"Yes, I also learned about another perspective about the Force. A more colorful side has I've heard."

The Father chuckled amusingly. "Ah yes, the Aing-Tii definitely have a interesting view on the Force, they're not wrong though."

Ralem nodded his head to the side in agreement. "It's great to see you again Dad. It's been hectic on my side of the galaxy."

"So I've seen, I'm sorry for the lost of your loved ones."

"Don't be. It has helped learn about the limits of my powers, that I'm not like you. At least not yet." Ralem replied, his voice holding grim determination.

Father placed a comforting hand on his son's shoulder, his eyes holding pained comfort. "Remain strong my son. You are almost at your goals, but it is time for you to go back to the war. Finish it and the galaxy will have peace."

His face stern with determination, Ralem nodded and with that particular confidence in mind, the Father disappeared with the dust in the wind.

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

 **One year later... Tython**

"Next we have Niman, a personal style I had created," stated Ralem to a holorecorder. The fourteen year old Je'daii Kage had been making holorecordings depicting the styles of lightsaber combat. And during that same year, in honor those who died on Coruscant, he vowed for their legacies to not be forgotten. He pushed himself to the brink of his natural abilities, becoming a master of every respective lightsaber combat: Shii-Cho, Makashi, Soresu, Djem So/Shien, and his own creation of Niman.

However during his fight with Skal'nas a year ago, during his crazed moment of full offensive attacks, it pondered on the Je'daii if that style of combat could become useful. To channel the inner darkness within a Je'daii and use it for a good purpose. Another style of balance, a philosophical combat form. He was proud of his accomplishment with Niman, a potentially flawless of combat if mastered correctly, but perhaps this new style could be his legacy.

The presence of Trill and Xesh interrupted the Je'daii Kage's lesson as they bowed their head in respect.

"Apologies Je'daii Kage but the Supreme Chancellor requires your presence on Coruscant. Apparently there's been a meeting called between you two and the Intergalactic Banking Clan." reported Xesh.

"And what kind of meeting are we likely to have?" questioned Ralem.

"No idea my lord, they just requested your presence immediately." replied Trill. The Je'daii Kage hummed amusingly before walking past them, and the two Je'daii Rangers followed him.

"Another round of politics, how joyful." replied Ralem sarcastically. "But it's par for the course I suppose, poised with the most powerful army the galaxy has ever seen."

"I agree my lord." answered Trill. Ralem could feel her lusting eyes trailing down his backside, more specifically his ass. He smirked to himself at her obvious antics, he knew she was being obvious; then again she's never been subtle in her desires before.

"Focus Trill, you'll be in bed screaming in pleasure soon." berated Ralem smoothly, laughing quietly to himself.

"I certainly hope so my lord. Perhaps a few other girls would like to join us as well." Trill suggested, hoping for such a course. Xesh merely ignored the two, it was awkward enough for him as it was. Besides his thoughts trailed off to his girlfriend...

"Maybe, if that is their choice." Ralem said.

"Oh I don't think they'll argue with a man of your stature." Trill teased.

"True. But let's change the subject for now, I'm curious on how your studies have come along. I hope you're ready to become Masters." said Ralem.

"We can only wish, but I'm pretty confident that we'll get the title." stated Xesh.

Ralem mused to himself on their advancements through the Je'daii ranks, they were amongst the most powerful Je'daii in the Order, outside of Lanoree and Ralem himself. Though he figured it was time to fill the empty seats of the Je'daii Council once more.

"Ralem!" called the sweet voice of his mother. During the past year Revanna acted somewhat of a diplomat between the Mandalorians and the Je'daii, though that wasn't much of an excuse for the two lovers to meet with each other in the Je'daii's bed. The Mandalorian's home planet of Mandalore served as a reminder of the partnership of the two factions. Fighting against the small city-sized Krayt Dragons were no small feat by any means.

Revanna ran over to her son and embraced him with a kiss. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, so how's the bounty hunting coming along?"

"Given the Republic is paying a hefty price for any sort of Rakatan intelligence, or just their deaths, I say I'm making a comfortable living. So, what's on the agenda for the galaxy's most powerful leader?"

"I have a meeting with the Supreme Chancellor and the head of the Intergalactic Banking Clan today. You can imagine how _fun_ that's going to be." pouted Ralem cutely.

"Aw poor baby," mocked Revanna pinching her son's cheek. "Being bored to death in a meeting."

"Mom," retorted Ralem, removing her hand from his cheek. "Don't stop it."

"Make me." Revanna whispered seductively. Ralem could feel her warm breath on his lips, his arousal growing with the passing millisecond.

The Je'daii cleared his throat, along with his clouded mind. "Maybe later, unless that's the main reason why you're here..."

"Isn't pretty much always the case?" countered Revanna.

"You come us with us." offered Ralem.

"Oh I plan to." Revanna teased.

The Je'daii rolled his eyes at her playful antics. "Not that kind of come... Never mind."

"I'm joking, partially, but I'll join you anyway. I always liked Coruscant."

"Now we got that settled I should probably tell Lanoree that I'm leaving." Ralem stated, he almost forgot about leaving her in charge before he left.

As the four made their way outside, the beauty of Tython never ceased to take away Ralem's breath. It was utopian place; Heaven on Earth and perfect harmony of tranquility and peace. Children playing across the grounds and Je'daii alike using the Force for research or leisure, and silver armored Je'daii scattered across as far as the eye could observe.

These particular Je'daii were the elite Je'daii masters were specially picked for guarding Tython and the Je'daii Kage himself. They wielded a unique weapon called a lightsaber pike and a blaster bolt reflecting shield; courtesy of Cortana.

Upon the people seeing their beloved Kage, the crowds roared with approval almost deafening Ralem in the process. He raised his hands and the crowd somehow roared even louder.

Cheering for a young man with the power to mold the galaxy as he saw fit, now truly ready for the war that will place a mark on history.

 ** **A**** **/N:** **Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! We're a little bit closer to the Clone Wars era guys, so wait a little bit longer lol (2 more chapters).**

 **Hoped you guys enjoyed a little character development with Ralem, and learning a different side of the Force.**

 **In case your curious, the silvered armored Je'daii mentioned towards the end of the chapter are the same as the Knights of Zakuul from the Knights of the Fallen Empire DLC, fyi.**

 **Here's a little question/riddle I have for you guys: If it takes 2 Jedi to match against a Sith Lord, then how many Jedi and Sith does it take to match a Je'daii?**

 **Finally here's the current level of Ralem's power:**

 **Before the One Year later segment (on Coruscant):**

 _Force Sage mode Ralem = Count Dooku (Continent level)_

 **Post One Year later segment:**

 _Base Form Ralem = Sith Emperor (Moon level)_

 ** **Do you guys think that's a good analysis? Let me know in the review section!****

 **Power Scaling-**

 **Solar System to Solar System+ level:**

 **Naga Sadow** **(** _with Sith Corsaid and Sith relics through Dark Side Magic_ **)**

 **World Razor** **(** _Destroyed 100 stars and 1,000 planets as according to the Rakata ruins and the Failsafe; the full power of the Infinite Empire was needed to defeat it_ **)**

 **Star to Star+ level:**

Father

Abeloth

 **Planet to Planet+ level:**

Grand Master Luke Skywalker

Ralem Kyo Solstice ( _potentially;_ _potentially_ _higher to Star level_ )

Son

Daughter

Darth Sidious ( _Small Planet_ )

Yoda ( _Small Planet; contained Sidious' lighting for a few seconds_ )

Valkorion ( _Small Planet; after the ritual on Ziost_ )

 **Moon to Moon+ level:**

Sith Emperor

 **Multi-Continent to Multi-Continent+ level:**

 **Galen Marek/Starkiller (** ** _Comparable to Darth Vader; previously Continent level_** **)**

 **Darth Vader (** _His training as a Sith Lord has noticeably increased his power from his previous peak as Anakin Skywalker; previously Co_ _ntinent_ _level_ )

 **Revan (** ** _At his best, he nearly matched the Sith Emperor_** **)**

 **Continent to Continent+ level:**

Mace Windu ( _potentially Small Planet use the continued use of Vaapad against his fight with Sidious in ROTS_ )

Darth Bane

Darth Nihilus ( _Razed the surface of Katarr and killed all life on the planet sans Visas Marr_ )

Darth Malak

Darth Plageuis

Count Dooku ( _One of the most powerful Jedi the Order had ever produced, even before his powers became enhanced by becoming a Sith Lord; previously Island+ level_ )

Darth Maul ( _appears to be comparable to, if not slightly weaker than, Darth Tyranus per Son of Dathomir; previously Island level_ )

Anakin Skywalker ( _Surpassed Darth Tyranus at his peak in Revenge of the Sith; previously Island level_ )

Obi-Wan Kenobi ( _Telekinetically stalemated a Darth Vader that, while emotionally compromised, was still well above his Padawan self in raw power; previously Island level_ )

Ki-Adi Mundi ( _He's a member of the Jedi Council, so he should be comparable to Obi-Wan Kenobi; previously Island level_ )

Meetra Surik ( _Managed to defeat Darth Traya_ )

Shaak Ti

Aayla Secura

Plo Koon

Arcann

Thexan

 **Country to Country+ level:**

Ajunta Pall

Satele Shan ( _Is a peer of Darth Malgus_ )

Darth Malgus

Meetra Surik ( _Killed the Greater Storm Beast on Malachor V; Small Country level_ )

Darth Sion

 **Island to Island+ level:**

Darth Nihilus ( _Pulled the Ravager out of Malachor V's orbit and continues to keep it from falling apart through pure force of will; far higher once fed_ )

 **City Block to City Block+ level:**

Ahsoka Tano

Barriss Offee


	8. Raging War

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything pertaining to the Star Wars franchise; all rights** **are acquired to Disney. The only things I own are my OC's Ralem Solstice.**

 **"Speaking"**

 **'Thoughts'**

 **'Telepathic'**

 **Ralem's Collective:**

Ahsoka Tano

Asajj Ventress

Padme Amidala

Riyo Chuchi

Sabren Wren

Satele Shan

Shae Vizla

Adi Gallia

Shaak Ti

Aayla Secura

Luminara Unduli

Barriss Offee

Tiplee

Tiplar

Bo-Katan Kryze

Duchess Satine

Miraj Scintel

Darth Talon

Lanoree Brock

Steele Gerrea

Marasiah Fel

The Daughter

Mina Bonteri

Hera

Jarael

Deliah Blue

Jaina Solo

Mara Jade

Savan

Vaylin

Senya Tirall

Queen Julia

Sola Naberrie

Breha Organa

Fem Revan

Meetra Surik

Trill

Sylvar

Celeste Mourne

Githany

Keelyvine Reus

Nadia Grell

Akaavi Spar

Jaesa Willsaam

Ashara Zavros

Kaliyo Djannis

Raina Temple

Darth Zannah

Visas Marr

Brianna

Raskta Lsu

Elke Vetter

Azlyn Rae

Sigel Dare

Leia Organa

Seventh Sister

Rey

Captain Phasma

Rook Kast

Siri Tachi

Krovos

Mirax Terrick

Syal Antilles

Callista Ming

Kerra Holt

Candra Tymon

Rig Nema

Lolo Purs

Mon Mothma

Ketsu Onyo

Atris

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

 ** **Muunilinst****

Ralem stared out the vast window to the lush world of forest, plains, and tall, jagged mountain peaks in the fair distance; he had heard rumors of its skies said to be the most beautiful in the galaxy. It was only the second most beautiful planet the Je'daii had visited, outside of Tython itself. The architecture of the city of Harnaidan, the headquarters of the InterGalactic Banking Clan, was gorgeous, was built around a series of gorgeous spires reaching four kilometers stretching towards the stars.

A skyhook connected Harnaidan with the High Port Space Center, an orbital city catering to alien races wishing to do business with the Muuns and the recently created InterGalactic Banking Clan.

Though there seemed to be a change of plans after Ralem had traveled to Coruscant, it seemed the hierarchies of the Banking Clan had some pressing matters regarding the Republic's payment for the ongoing war for the past year, and wished for the meeting to take place on their homeworld. The Supreme Chancellor and Ralem had no problem with this decision, though there was a mutual curiosity between the two.

"Thank you for meeting us and we apologize for the last minute changes, we felt that our order of business would be more suited within our facilities." stated Chairman Tonith, a notable family within Muun society and one of the five members that oversaw the Banking Clan.

"We understand Chairman, but we are curious on what the Banking Clan wishes to discuss." implored the Supreme Chancellor.

"Money, what else?" chortled the Muun, complimenting his own dry wit. However his laughter ceased and his face grew dim and stern. "But on a serious note, given the current circumstances of the Republic asking for multiple loans to finance the war against the Rakatans, at this current rate the Republic will collapse under its own debts."

"I fail to understand the problem," spoke Ralem. "Given that the Je'daii, the Republic, and the Banking Clan were the ones to the develop the currency of the Credit, how can we already be in debt if we own it?"

"I'm afraid there's been a misunderstand Kage Solstice, you don't _own_ the credits." countered Tonith.

"Excuse me?" demanded Ralem, frowning at the Muun.

"Just as I said, you don't own the credits. You may be the ones who came up the concept of the credit currency, but if the InterGalactic Banking Clan wishes to grow we must broaden our horizons."

"And how, pray tell, do you plan on "broaden your horizons"? You can't honestly expect the Rakatans to honor something like this." retorted the Supreme Chancellor, frowning in kind at the Chairman.

"Perhaps but what we were thinking of was taking the stance of neutrality. As grateful as we are towards the Je'daii for granting us our independence from the Infinite Empire, we have to look for ourselves which means taking a neutral stance."

"So plan on creating a type of partnership with the same people that enslaved yours in the first place?" mocked the Je'daii. "Yeah, that'll work out _perfectly_."

Chairman Tonith frowned, and Ralem could count the the number of wrinkles on the pale grey Muun's forehead. A tense silence enveloped between the straining three leaders; Ralem rubbed his forehead as a headache started to form, this wasn't going according to plan.

"I'm sorry gentlemen, but that's the way it has to be. Before the invention of the hyperdrive, Muunilinst's economy was based around farming and fishing. But after the hyperdrive the galaxy started to give worth to precious metals that Muunilinst has in droves, how else are we supposed to sustain ourselves?" Tonith explained. "By listening to a bunch of-"

Invisible fingers gripped tightly around the Muun's throat, cutting off his air. Tonith struggled to keep his consciousness as his hands instinctively wrapped around his throat trying to ply the invisible assailant off.

Ralem focused his Force abilities between his forefinger and thumb pressed closely together on the Muun, his golden eyes darkening slightly in anger. "Now you listen to me, I didn't lose those I cared about for some dirty, money-grubbing Muun to leave me high and dry to pursue their own goals. I _built_ this Republic and I _built_ this Banking Clan with my own hands to get rid of a much larger threat, and I am not going to lose this war because of you, got it?"

The Muun garbled pathetically as his arms slightly flayed about in some attempt to save himself. "I didn't think so. However I am generous man so I'll allow you and your people some time to think on it. But let me give you one final warning," Ralem stood from his seat and placed his hands on the durasteel desk, a thin sheet of ice growing from his palms serving as intimidation, still Force-choking the Muun with his mind. "If you _ever_ try to pull something like this to me again, I will burn down the entire the InterGalactic Banking to ash and rebuild it better than ever. Do you understand me?"

The precipitated pale face of the Muun shook fervently in agreement, fear clearly evident in his eyes. Releasing his grip on the Muun, Ralem stepped away from the desk and towards the door, leaving the Supreme Chancellor to watch the Muun gulped the saving grace of air into his burning lungs as the leader of the Republic glance towards the exiting Je'daii with a worried expression before he made his own exit.

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

The Supreme Chancellor and the Je'daii Kage stared at the opposite ends of the dinner table, watching the little expressions on each other's face. A bountiful feast was spread in honor for two of the galaxy's most powerful men, however dinner was the last thing on their minds.

"I sense you disapprove of my actions earlier back at the office." Ralem stated.

"How else do you expect me to react Ralem? You can't just choke people just because they disagree with you." replied the Supreme Chancellor after a drink of his wine.

"Even at the expense of a billion or more deaths because of a stupid debt? C'mon they're basically backstabbing us after we freed them from the Rakatans, how else would I act?"

The Supreme Chancellor sighed as he took a another sip, frowning at the prospect of the young Je'daii. "I don't know. I share your feelings on this issue, but I don't agree with your method even if it may be rightfully justified."

"But it worked, you saw that." justified Ralem. "Besides it's not like a severally tortured him or anything. Trust me, I could've done a lot worse if I wanted."

"And that frightens me." Ralem paused at the Chancellor's words. "Ever since you started the Republic you've started to change in a dark way. I understand the deaths of your loved ones had started that change, but you can't keep this up because-"

 ** _Because I want to see the look of despair on your face, the realization that everything you loved and worked so hard to accomplish is nothing more than a foolish dream._**

The Je'daii balled his fist tightly subconsciously as the memory of his brother's taunting came back to fruition. So far the Son was right in his predictions, Ralem was playing right into his hands. He had been so concerned with everything else that he forgot how far he was willing to go for his goals. And it costed him a great deal.

"You're right, you're right," Ralem stated, his laughter weary from his thoughts. "I've started to lose sight of everything. I claim to be a prevaier of knowledge but I haven't really _learn_ anything during those years- from Tython to now. I claim to change, but I haven't, not really. Now I start to learn from my mistakes, I have to."

"I pray, that for all our sakes, you do."

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

 ** **One month later on Yavin****

Ralem Solstice led the fifty-five thousand troops of the Republic Army and the Knights of Tython through the vast jungles of Yavin. He had been granted the title of Supreme General of the Galactic Army, second only to the Supreme Chancellor himself in rank.

For the first two weeks the Je'daii and his troops had been relentlessly hunting down any signs of the Infinite Empire and killing them on the jungle moon. However as the weeks drawled on the Rakatans had been pushing back with just as much prejudice. According to the new intel, the Rakatans were getting a fresh shipment of supplies and soldiers soon within the week.

Using the Battle Meditation technique to boost the morales of his troops, Ralem pressed onward deeper into the jungles until they found the base of operations for the Rakatans. There had to be at least three times as many Rakatan soldiers; all armed with Forcesabers, blasters, various weapons, and the Force.

Ralem halted his troops as he surveyed the area. With the Rakatans outnumbering them almost 3 to 1, Ralem decided the best course of action would be to outflank them and use the environment to their advantage.

"Commander Shepard, take half the troops to the southwest side of the base. I'll take the rest and rendezvous on the northeast and on my signal we'll blind side them." ordered Ralem through his com-link.

" _Roger that sir, awaiting your signal._ " replied the female Commander.

"Let's move out troops." commanded Ralem. Silently passing through the forest Ralem's troops made to their destination, a few animal cries echoed far into the distance. Peering through his personal electrobinoculars Ralem observed closely at the Rakatan troops, looking for an opening to take advantage of. They already had the environmental and superior movement on their side, though they were outclassed in every other possible way.

"Sir, if I may interject," spoke a lone soldier poised by Ralem's side. The Je'daii continued to stare through his electrobinoculars though he said nothing. "Given that we already have the environmental advantage, it would be best if we keep that."

"I'm very aware of that aspect soldier," drawled the Je'daii.

"What I meant sir, is that we could probably smoke them out and during the confusion, we can attack."

"Then we can assure victory using the high ground. And if any Rakatan tries to run off, well, I think you get the gist." mused Ralem.

"Aye, sir." agreed the Republic soldier.

"Very well, gather as much smoke bombs as you can." ordered Ralem. The Republic soldier nodded and ran towards the awaiting troops to gather the necessary supplies. Ralem activated his comm-link. "Slight change of plans Commander, I'm going to create a small diversion using the smoke bombs. From there you should know what to do, and make sure to kill any Rakatan stragglers you see."

" _Roger that sir._ "

The Republic soldier quickly returned with a satchel of the smoke bombs. "Good, hand me a few." The soldier handed a handful of smoke bombs to his superior. "Five... That should be enough. When you the screeches of the Rakatans, bring forth hell."

Leaping twelve meters into the air, Ralem took aerial advantage and tossed the five smoke bombs into the Rakatan base below. And upon the the smoke rising and the disgruntled confusion of the Rakatan's, a golden lightsaber ignited within. Before the surrounding squad of fifty Rakatans could even blink, they fell dead. The Je'daii's vision quickly filled of red and purple plasma from the Forcesabers and blaster fire. Fifty dead Rakatans, three hundred thousand more to go. The base became scorched with destruction as the soldiers continued to fire from their current positions as Ralem slaughtered the rest on their own turf. Buildings being disassembled with Ralem's bare hands and voice powered with the Force, all turning to shambles within seconds.

Fifty dead Rakatans turned to one hundred, one hundred turned to three hundred. Three hundred quickly turned to five hundred, somehow he was able to keep count between his kills and his troops. What seemed like a short passage of time before the smell of dead flesh finally caught up to the Je'daii. The smoke died down and Ralem took in sight the carnage that laid before him; three hundred thousand or so Rakatan soldiers... Dead. Fire consumed the equipment and some of the bodies, Ralem walking over the dead back to his troops never once looking at the deceased.

"That was easier than I expected." replied Commander Shepard to the Je'daii.

Ralem glanced back to the destroyed base, the ebony smoke escaping higher into the sky and the multiple small fire engorging everything in sight. Ralem waved the back of his hand, and the fires extinguished immediately. "No reason why it shouldn't. It was a relatively simple plan and it worked, plus having the most powerful person in the galaxy should be par for the course, wouldn't you say?"

"I guess so, sir."

"Set up a base here once you get rid of the bodies and prepare my ship, I have more fighting elsewhere." ordered Ralem as he fixed his armor and cape.

"Yes my lord."

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

 ** **Two months later... Alderaan****

The Je'daii's _Hunter-class_ starfighter dodged and heaved against the heavy onslaught of artillery fire in the vastness of space over in the Alderaan system. The number of blaster fire within the Je'daii's vision almost numbered the stars in comparison, such a strange sight to behold. Ralem continued to dodge the two dozen Rakatan starfighters currently on his tail consistently trying to destroy the Je'daii Kage, and they almost got him a few times. A few times too many.

The Je'daii Kage suddenly pulled his starfighter in a huge loop, bringing himself behind his enemies. Before they could react or defend themselves, Ralem had taken the offense quickly destroying them with extreme prejudice. Explosions and metallic debris clouded his vision as he flew towards the heart of it, expertly maneuvering through it with nary a scratch.

"Eclipse-1, this is Solstice over." stated Solstice via his headset. The Je'daii viewed the planet of Alderaan from his cockpit, the beautiful blue jewel waiting for him down below.

" _Solstice this is Eclipse-1, we saw the fireworks display you created but save some of the fishfaces for the rest of us, over._ " joked Xesh.

"Now where would the fun be with that?" playfully countered Ralem, laughing a little. "It's not my fault you're too slow."

Xesh grumbled inaudibly through the headset causing Ralem to snicker in glee. "Anyway we have a few larger ships incoming our way, how about I make it up to you?"

" _... Please don't tell me you're going to leave me alone with them._ "

"Alone? No, I'll be here... Watching from a far distance."

" _Ralem!_ " shouted Xesh.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding... Mostly." comforted Ralem. "But I do see an opening at twelve o'clock, port side."

" _I see it, on my mark-_ "

"Your mark?" questioned Ralem.

" _Apologies my lord, on you mark._ "

"Damn straight." Ralem joked, taking the lead and flying towards one of the opened entrances of the Rakatan capital ships and firing upon the unexpecting Rakatan starfighters before they could even leave. As the Je'daii flew through the large hangar corridors destroying every capable starfighter in sight, Ralem suddenly halted his starfighter in mid-air and leapt out of the cockpit, igniting his lightsaber. Xesh halted as well curious on what the Je'daii Kage was planning.

Lifting more than a dozen Rakatan starfighters through the will of the Force, Ralem crushed them into large metallic boulder-like shapes and threw them towards a few unfortunate Rakatans, crushing them as a puddle of blood stained the floor beneath. A web of blue lightning swept from the Je'daii's fingertips, cremating a dozen more Rakatans who were foolish enough to challenge the Kage to ash.

Five Rakatan starfighters then surrounded Ralem, their spotlights dead set on him. The current of wind exhaling from the starfighters blew strongly against Ralem's hair and cape, flapping loudly.

' _Leave the ship now._ ' ordered Ralem telepathically to Xesh. ' _I'll take care of this and the capital ship, destroy the others._ '

Heeding to his lord's commands, Xesh turned his ship around and left. Allowing Ralem to solely focus on his current situation. Drawing upon his Darksaber within a split millisecond the Je'daii leapt towards the first two Rakatan ships, slicing windows of the cockpit and the pilots within seconds. Jumping to the third ship a powerful stream of lightning rupture the inner mechanics of the ship and sputtering it before exploding. Before the third ship exploded Ralem had already Force-crushed the last two ships and dropped them onto the floor.

Ralem brushed the dust that had collected on his cape and leapt back onto his ship that was twenty feet away. "Time to set this ship to self-destruct Cortana."

The bluish-image of his lover came onto the tiny holo-projector on his ship's dashboard. " _Give me a few seconds... And done. You have less than ten seconds._ "

"Always cutting it a little close aren't we?" asked Ralem.

" _Are you giving me a sexual innuendo?_ " countered Cortana.

"I don't see how that's-" The Je'daii pondered on that as his ship exited the Rakatan capital ship. "Oh..."

" _Speaking of innuendos, I did find a little planet that has quite a romantic setting. Maybe we could take a small break from the war and make sweet love together, we haven't spend much romantic time together since Coruscant. Well, I haven't anyway._ " Cortana glared softly towards Ralem as she finished making her point.

"I know, I know I'm sorry." apologized Ralem. "I will make it up to you I promise. It's been a little more than a year since the war started but..." The Je'daii sighed, running his hand through his spiky brown hair. "I'll make it up to you but it won't be easy to pry me away from the battlefield since I'm Supreme Commander and all, so you work some magic or something."

" _I think I can figure something out. I love you._ "

"I love you too."

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

 ** **Five months later... Dantooine****

An army of Rakatans stormed across the never-ending wheat fields, the ground shaking beneath them from every step. They looked like a large army of ants from where the Je'daii stood perched on the hilltop. A cool breeze flowed through his cape flapping lazy in the wind. Apparently no matter how hard Cortana tired, she couldn't seem to find any free time for Ralem. And it started to Ralem a bit frustrated, he wasn't use to going eight months without relief.

He sighed and tried to focus on the incoming army- Roughly five hundred thousand troops compared to the Republic's two hundred thousand. It seemed the Infinite Empire had an infinite number of troops, Ralem mused dryfully at the poor attempt at humor. But it seemed dire any way, the Republic seemed to be outnumbered in almost every scenario in every battle.

And there was no cover for the Republic militia to hide behind, they had to go with a full frontal assault, a damn near suicide. With no other alternative Ralem hopped upon his prototype swoop bike and grabbed the combat lance placed on the side, leading the troops down the steep cliff side to the open field awaiting an glorious battle.

Seeing the incoming charge of the Republic, the Rakatans gave a thunderous war cry and charged with spirit across the field. The two warring factions soon clashed, several bodies being thrown into the air from the momentum, and bodies and body parts quickly layered the ground. Ralem had already leapt off his swoop bike high into the air before the crash, high enough for his body to cast an eery shadow against the sun, and landed in the middle of the Rakatan army.

Igniting his golden lightsaber and his Darksaber, Ralem traded power for speed as he slaughtered the Rakatans by the dozens. Foolish Rakatans, thinking they could challenge a demigod and expect to live. Taking on four or five Rakatans at a time, Ralem smiled to himself at his superior skill. It was ironic that even though he took their technology and weaponry, he was able to prove himself better than them. Finally taking the fight seriously Ralem blitzed the Rakatans, their mutilated bodies scorched with the burn marks of the Je'daii's weapons.

Ralem paused as a ginormous shadow loomed over the armies. Turning his head towards the sky, a giant ship- bigger than any ship Solstice had recognized- hovered intimidatingly over them. The fighting ceased at the prospect of this when Ralem sped away, foreseeing the upcoming events.

"RUN!" shouted Ralem however it was too late as a giant bludgeoning device stomped onto the ground, creating a enormous crater a quarter mile wide. A tsunami of sand towering at 30 meters demolished the Rakatan and Republic soldiers, tossing or killing them mercilessly. Ralem leapt several meters higher than the sand tsunami, only to land in the middle of the blazing sand storm. The Je'daii shielded himself with a Force barrier, the sand blistering around his invisible shield as he tried to concentrate on seeing at least three feet in front of him. He could silhouetted bodies limply flying high above him before they crashed to the ground.

As the storm died down Ralem caught wind of the massive Rakatan ship, igniting his lightsaber once more he charged towards the ship. The ground quivered from another seismic strike and as Ralem ran up the sand tsunami, he leapt off the top and launched himself towards the ship.

A golden lightsaber pierced itself through the hull of the ship, killing an unfortunate Rakatan along the way. Creating a circular hole the Je'daii Force pushed the molten piece of the wall, slamming into a handful of Rakatan soldiers. Blitzing through the ship, killing as many soldiers as he could see, Ralem eventually made it to the control center where a squad of fifteen Rakatans stood. Upon seeing the Je'daii in their midst the Rakatans activated their Forcesabers in an attempt to put the Je'daii in his place.

They even didn't get a chance to attack as Ralem Force pushed a few of them through the window, their screams echoing as they fell down a few stories to their deaths. Jumping out of the window himself, he contorted himself to where he facing directly at the capital ship. Letting the Force guide itself through his body, Ralem pulled and steered the capital ship away from his remaining troops, and crashed a fair distance away from the battlefield. A large explosion followed the crash as Ralem landed soundly on his feet, watching the explosion and smoke encase the destroyed the ship.

 ** **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-****

 ** **Three weeks later... Naboo****

The Je'daii Kage laid on his back as the warm spring sun soothed his skin, he finally found some time to relax with his loved ones after eight months of constant war. It felt good, really good. He sighed contently as he laid his hands behind his head, watching the numerous waterfalls not too far away from the fields in which he, Cortana, Lanoree, and Trill had their lunch, or picnic, or something... Probably a picnic, he thought. Sounded more romantic.

A soft heavenly sigh graced his ears as Lanoree rested her head against Ralem's bare chest, she could hear his strong heartbeat pound in his ear. The Je'daii Kage wrapped his arm around her waist pulling her closer to him. She smiled lovingly and pressed her lips against his.

"You managed to find a pretty nice spot." mused Ralem.

Lanoree scoffed, playfully swatting the Je'daii's sculpted chest. " "Pretty nice"? This has to be the most gorgeous place in the ENTIRE galaxy, and you say it's "nice"?"

"It's not as beautiful as you." teased Ralem.

Trill gagged playfully at the comment. "Oh by Ashla and Bogan, that's what you call flirting? Thank gods you're better at politics, fighting, and in the bed than actually flirting."

"That's hurtful, you might've actually hurt my feelings with that one."

Trill rolled her eyes at the Kage's feigned turmoil. "Oh my apologies my lord. How can I ever REPAY you for my insolence?"

Ralem smirked as a little devious idea popped inside his mind. "I think I can come up with something. C'mere."

Trill giggled sweetly, crawling on her hands and knees to her lover. When she was close enough Trill laid her nude on top of Lanoree's nude form, who giggled at the former Force Hounds actions. Trill leaned her down and ensnared Lanoree in an enticing kiss, hoping to please her lord. Lanoree smiled in the middle of the kiss, her hand gripping Ralem's cock and stroking it gently. Ralem moaned at the action, his cock hardening to nine inches. Lanoree and Trill cooed at the nine inch cock, their memories detailing that only a year it was seven inches before it's now glorious length.

Trill and Lanoree went on either side of Ralem's cock before their tongues gently messaged the entire length from balls to tip. Lanoree suckled her lips on the side of his cock, sucking on the erotic flavor while Trill fondled on his balls, gently pulling on them with her lips. Ralem gritted his teeth and leaned his head back letting the intense lustful feelings overwhelm him. Feeling left out Cortana crawled over to Ralem's face before lifting her leg over his face to straddle him. Knowing the next coarse of action Ralem immediately licked the female A.I.'s pussy, satisfied with his lover's enticing moans.

While Ralem was occupied pleasuring Cortana, Trill had taken the next step and placed his cock within her womb causing Ralem to thrust his hips upward at the unexpected action, groaning at her tight pussy. Trill caressed her own breasts, with assistance from Lanoree, as she rode her fierce lover as Ralem quickly picked up the pace. She could feel his cock up against her womb, so majestic. She bit her lip as her orgasm was quickly upon her, her pussy tightening around the Je'daii's member before Ralem released his seed into her.

Without missing a beat after Trill got off Ralem's cock, Lanoree sprang onto it placing his cock deep inside and gyrated her hips in movement with his. Nearing her own orgasm Cortana held Ralem's face in place and showered her fluids down his throat, though some of it splashed onto his face. Nearly choking on the amount of fluid, Ralem gently removed Cortana off his face without missing a beat from Lanoree. She leaned against Ralem's chest and lapped up Cortana's fluids from his face, her warm tongue brushing against his cheeks.

The action only made Ralem harder, flipping Lanoree onto her back he began to thrust harder into the female Je'daii. She always had beautiful eyes, Ralem mused. A mixture of her flustered, dominated face and sweet moans made him wanted her all the more. She was his first love, always has been always will be. He pressed his lips to hers softly, wanting to feel every bit of lips, to taste her divine essence as he ravaged her. To make her his right to love. That she belonged to him as much as he belonged to her.

Seeing this rather adoring and possessive look on his face cause Lanoree to stare doe-eyed at him. The two lost in their ideal heavens, with nothing but them together linked together by a sacred bond. Grimacing his teeth, Ralem unleashed a rather potent load of his seed deep inside her womb, potent enough to where it splurged from Lanoree's pussy. Both lover's gasped at the intense spiritual connection between the two climaxed, Ralem gently touching her lips with his finger.

"I-I don't know what will happen," spoke Ralem staring deep into Lanoree's eyes, to her soul. "I know only one thing; that I want to keep holding you, lie with you a hundred more- no a thousand more times."

Lanoree stared in awe at the poetic words of her lover. Those had to be the sincerest she ever heard Ralem speak, so caring and protective. Her eyes glistened with emotion as she wrapped her arms around the Je'daii's neck, embracing him with a tender kiss. Slow, passionate and soft.

Unaware a short distance away a hellish figure that somewhat resembled Ralem watched them.

 ** **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-****

 ** **Three days later...Lehon System****

" _So if I remember correctly, we're here to either capture or destroy this supposed space station that can created entire fleets of starships._ " commented Trill.

" _Which was created by the Rakatans, don't forget about that._ " stated Lanoree.

" _I was thought that was needed without stating._ " retorted Xesh.

Ralem sat quietly in his starfighter listening to his comrades joke around with each other. He had a bad feeling about something, he could feel a dark presence within Force as if warning him of looming threat though he wasn't sure if it was the named Star Forge station or something else.

"Keep your eyes peeled. I got a bad feeling about this." warned Ralem. Hearing the grim tone in their leader's voice, the other Je'daii complied and upon drawing closer to their destination they saw the unique space station in question.

The Je'daii stared at the massive space station, it was probably the largest thing they've seen in their lives, outside of the Tho Yor ships.

" _Is that space station sucking up energy from that nearby star?_ " questioned Lanoree.

Ralem glanced towards the star in question, seeing a whirl from the star. "I believe so. Using a star to power a space station, that's rather ingenious. Slight change of plans, don't destroy this station. This has a lot of potential for us in the future."

" _For ruling over the galaxy right?_ " asked Trill.

"Yes." Ralem answered. "But for now let's focus on the mission. Lanoree, you see any openings?"

" _I see one at what I assume to be near the control center near the top. Doesn't seem heavily guarded on the outside, inside could be a different situation._ " analyzed Lanoree. " _Plus that Dark side energy you're probably feeling is coming from here, there's a LOT of it in droves._ "

"Understood, alright let's move in." Ralem took the lead towards the docking bay and landed his ship, followed by the rest of the Je'daii. Exiting from his ship Ralem surveyed the area but it seemed to be deserted. "Keep your guard up. I seriously doubt that the Rakatans would leave this place abandoned."

The eerie silence didn't help Ralem's current uneasiness, it felt as if they were walking into a trap. Igniting his golden lightsaber Ralem led his group through the vast space station, the mechanical groaning and whining sending tense feelings through everyone.

" **You sense it, the vile darkness within this place.** " spoke a familiar voice form within the Je'daii.

' _It's been a couple of years since we last converse hasn't it?_ ' telepathically spoke Ralem, feeling a bit relieved. ' _Yeah, I feel it. It's like this place feasts of the Dark Side._ '

" **Exactly, the Star Forge feasts on the Dark Side. But if you wish to harness its power for yourself, it can be reprogrammed to do your bidding.** " spoke Ryujin.

' _You read my mind,_ ' quipped Ralem. ' _But you wouldn't happen to have any useful information about the Star Forge in my stomach by any chance? Like the location of the control center.'_

" **It's not too far from here you stand; make a right at the end of this hallway, then a enter a doorway on the far end of the room.** " explained Ryujin.

' _Much appreciated,_ ' thanked the Je'daii. ' _Oh, and tell Byakko I said hi._ '

The obsidian dragon snorted, the Je'daii assuming that response to be a yes. "Make a right here."

The Je'daii obeyed Ralem and followed him closely. The Je'daii Kage stood next to the door that Ryu told him and pressed his ear to the door, sensing for any Rakatans. Curious enough Ralem didn't sense anything, and slowly opening the door, the promised control center was empty.

Ralem frowned as he inspected the center. This was too easy, especially for Rakatans. He stroked his chin in thought while the Je'daii behind him immediately took to their positions. Walking over to the window that oversaw the assembly lines for creating starships or whatever it could produce, Ralem continued to muse over the current situation.

"Check to see if there's something amiss in the systems." Ralem stated. The other Je'daii glanced towards their leader, feeling his growing concern and complied.

After a few minutes of searching through the Forge's mainframe, Lanoree spoke. "Nothing out of the ordinary here. But that can't be right though."

"Same here, nothing out of the ordinary. Just massive orders to create ships, weapons, clothing, medical supplies, anything and everything really." said Xesh.

Ralem scoffed out loud, not believing anything he heard. "It can't be that easy. Nothing about this war has been easy for the past year, so why now?"

He ran his hand through his hair when the lights suddenly died down. Providing a small amount of light from their lightsabers, colors of gold, purple, and blue dimly lit the room.

"What happened?!" demanded the Je'daii Kage.

Lanoree, Xesh, and Trill attempted to type something, anything, but nothing.

"Power's down," Trill reported. "Fortunately I happened to find a layout of the station before the power went down. The backup generators should be below you, where the the assembly lines are."

"Why hasn't the backup generators kicked up already?" asked Xesh.

"Because this station seems to run on the Force directly." Ralem observed, recalling his earlier conversation with Ryujin. "Makes sense, everything that they created has been dependent on the Force itself. Trill come with me, I need a guide to the generators. Lanoree and Xesh, investigate on the assembly lines and find out what you can."

Shattering the glass with his lightsaber, Ralem leapt through the window and landed with expert agility on the steel beam no longer than a foot thick. Trill quickly followed, as did Lanoree and Xesh, before going their own separate ways. Traveling several stories down in a few leaps, Ralem and Trill finally made to the bottom of the assembly.

"We shouldn't be too far from it," said Trill. She turned in a circle before walking past Ralem. "This way, it should be right-"

The Star Forge shook violently suddenly, throwing Ralem and Trill to the floor. The metallic beams snapped and fell from the vast heights and almost crushed Ralem and Trill before the two levitated the massive metal beams with the Force.

" **You must get your people out of here now!** " shouted Ryujin. The Je'daii crumpled to the floor suddenly, a massive pain radiating across his body. He felt a rather powerful being in the Force, possibly stronger than Ralem himself. But it wasn't familiar- it wasn't the Son... Could it have been something from him?

"W-What is it?" groaned Ralem, gritting his teeth as he tried to ignore the pain. He noticed the worried tone in Ryujin's voice. "Ryu?"

Ralem's body started to twitch and contort painfully; his finger nails growing to dark claws, his teeth to sharp canines, and his eyes turned to slits. Trill crawled backwards away from Ralem, the look of awe and fear evident on her face. She couldn't dare breathe at a moment like this, she never dare thought that Ralem was capable of shape-shifting, into a large tiger of all things.

The ship-sized tiger towered above the female Je'daii, it's head facing upwards growling intimidatingly at its invisible assailant. The tiger shook its head before regaining consciousness, turning to face the Je'daii by its paws.

"Trill, get out of here. There's something wrong with this place, something powerful." ordered Ralem. Trill stared blankly with her mouth agape at the tiger, its face not to far from her's. She reached her hand out to pet his snout when Ralem spoke again. "NOW!"

Startled by the voice, Trill stood up and jumped towards the beams back to the control center. Baring his now sharp canines, Ralem conversed with Ryujin. "Tell me what's going on, are we being attacked?"

" **Yes, by a monstrous creature called the Terror from Beyond, or by his proper Lotek'k,** " explained Ryujin. Another massive quake shook the Star Forge, almost causing Ralem to lose balance in his tiger form. " **Lotek'k was banished beyond the reaches of the galaxy millions of years ago, I was one of the beings that fought against him. Unfortunately the Gree people of Asation created the Grand Hypergate which allowed the creature to return only for us to be banished again.** "

"If that's true then how is he back?" asked Ralem.

" **Someone must've activated the Grand Hypergate once more, it's the only plausible explanation.** " mused Ryujin. " **Most likely the Rakatans.** "

"Explains the abandoned Star Forge. But where is it?"

A massive blue tunnel then broke through the wall, the sight reminded Ralem of when he traveled via in Hyperspace, though the powerful gravitational force pulled Ralem completely into the void before it closed.

 ** **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-****

 ** **Asation****

Ralem flew threw the Grand Hypergate, his large feline uprooting the ground as he tumbled to a halt. He quickly got up and shook the dirt of his fur, surveying the deserted landscape. Pieces of rustic metal scattered the land as dust was pasted onto them. The whole place looked like a junkyard to Ralem, before a monstrous tentacle stomped in front of him.

Followed by another awfully close to the tiger, and Ralem glanced towards the monstrous creature in question. Lotek'k stood several stories tall with a blue colored outer shell and peach-beige chest covering. Two black soulless beady eyes glistened on the light shone from above, armed with multiple tentacles and pinchers/claws. It kind of reminded Ralem of a giant mutated snake.

Lotek'k attempted to grab Ralem with its tentacles, grabbing his right front paw and almost got his back legs. Trying to pull himself from the tentacle proved useless after several tugs, Ralem bit down hard on the tentacle; blood gushing from the appendage onto the face as Lotek'k gave a pained screech in kind. Taking a larger bite of the tentacle Ralem pulled onto it in an attempt to drag it to the ground. However Lotek'k proved to be the superior of the two, pulling Ralem high into the air and pulled him to its mouth to eat him.

Waiting for the right moment Ralem morphed back to his normal humanoid form, slipping from the tentacle and reached from his lightsaber. Hearing the familiar hum Ralem stabbed into the fleshy armor of the creature to slow his descent, the flesh ripping into two as his momentum slowed. Sensing the creature trying to attack him, Ralem backflipped off the arm of Lotek'k onto the backhand that tried to kill him. A powerful stream of lighting racked from his fingertips onto the creatures face, Lotek'k shaking its head to stop the oncoming flow of power. Lotek'k roared in frustration and slammed the hand that Ralem was standing on towards the ground, only for the Je'daii to leap onto the other massive arm and running up alongside towards the face.

Using a powerful Force-leap to clear the gap, Ralem held his lightsaber high above his head until he was close enough to his target, slashing one of its eyes. Another painful screech erupted from the Lotek'k as it tried to slap Ralem off its face. Jumping off the creature at the last second, Ralem turned towards the creature and pulled it the several-storied creature with the Force to the ground creating a massive crater on the ground.

Transforming back into Byakko, Ralem stepped onto Lotek's neck and stared at it before Ralem tore into Lotek'k's neck, blood gushing onto his face and onto the ground. Shaking some of the blood of his furred face, Ralem morphed back to his normal form. Falling to his knees to rest, he got back up and stumbled towards the Grand Hypergate that wasn't too far away from his current location.

 ** **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-****

 ** **Three months later... Tython****

"What is the Force?" asked Ralem to a large group of Je'daii ranging from kids to adults. "Or rather what are we to the Force? Black, white, and grey; these things are what I have taught you to assimilate balance, which is true. However it's not the only truth. I have discovered that the Force, much like people and life, are filled with colors. Bright, colorful, and to be enjoyed fully and not to be wasted. Red for example can have various meanings, that of anger, love, or passion. But I have discovered a rather simple truth amongst all things taught to me: It doesn't matter what I tell you, for it means nothing."

The group of Je'daii mumbled loudly, confused on what their Kage meant by such a declaration. But they were silenced by Ralem's hand.

"My teachings mean nothing because they are not law, they are merely guidelines for your life. You have a choice in what path you wish to walk down, I cannot force you to change. Every choice you make will have a consequence, either good or bad. Which brings us to the second level of a Je'daii: Knowledge. If you fail to recognize your flaws, you cannot wish to grow in character and in strength. We are blank canvases for the Force, to bring our art to life and to share that with those that wish to grow."

Ralem paused as he turned to see Lanoree walking towards him, her hands on her slightly swollen stomach. He beamed with pride and joy, excusing himself to join his lover. Kneeling in front of her, Ralem placed his ear to her stomach to hear the baby. Giggling softly at him Lanoree gently run her hand through his hair, Ralem sighing at the pleasurable sensation. He couldn't believe he was going to be a father, at such a young age at that. But he wouldn't change anything for that.

Standing onto his feet Ralem kissed Lanoree lovingly before staring deeply into her grey eyes. "You're so... beautiful."

Lanoree smiled sweetly. "It's only because I'm so in love."

Ralem rolled his eyes at the awful banter. "Geez, and I thought I was bad at flirting."

"You are," teased Lanoree as she embraced him into a hug. "It's nice, to be here where we belong and with our child."

"I wonder if she'll have your eyes." mused Ralem.

"Hmm, your eyes are pretty though."

Ralem pursed his lips before smiling playfully, gently swaying the both of them in the hug. "Can't argue with you there. I do have me some _pretty_ eyes."

Lanoree chuckled and gave Ralem a quick kiss. "I'm not disturbing your class, am I?"

"No, no of course not. In fact I was almost done anyway. Was there something that you needed?" asked Ralem with concern. Lanoree smiled sweetly at how quickly Ralem changed from gentle to protective.

"Just you." Lanoree replied. Ralem smiled as he glanced up towards the where the Star Forge hovered majestically in the sky. This is weapon on his side, Ralem would finally have the peace and balance he had preached for so long.

 ** **A**** **/N:** **Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Alright guys, just one more chapter until we get to the Clone Wars!**

 **I figured I finally get to show the war spread across the galaxy to your lovely readers between the Je'daii Order and the Infinite Empire. Took me long enough I guess lol, but I hope you enjoyed nonetheless.**

 **For the Dantooine scene, I borrowed that piece from the Clone Wars Microseries where Mace Windu fought against an entire army by himself XD. Hope you guys enjoyed that little piece too.**

 **Power Scaling-**

 **Solar System to Solar System+ level:**

 **Naga Sadow** **(** _with Sith Corsaid and Sith relics through Dark Side Magic_ **)**

 **World Razor** **(** _Destroyed 100 stars and 1,000 planets as according to the Rakata ruins and the Failsafe; the full power of the Infinite Empire was needed to defeat it_ **)**

 **Star to Star+ level:**

Father

Abeloth

 **Planet to Planet+ level:**

Grand Master Luke Skywalker

Ralem Kyo Solstice ( _potentially;_ _potentially_ _higher to Star level_ )

Son

Daughter

Darth Sidious ( _Small Planet_ )

Yoda ( _Small Planet; contained Sidious' lighting for a few seconds_ )

Valkorion ( _Small Planet; after the ritual on Ziost_ )

 **Moon to Moon+ level:**

Sith Emperor

 **Multi-Continent to Multi-Continent+ level:**

 **Galen Marek/Starkiller (** ** _Comparable to Darth Vader; previously Continent level_** **)**

 **Darth Vader (** _His training as a Sith Lord has noticeably increased his power from his previous peak as Anakin Skywalker; previously Co_ _ntinent_ _level_ )

 **Revan (** ** _At his best, he nearly matched the Sith Emperor_** **)**

 **Continent to Continent+ level:**

Mace Windu ( _potentially Small Planet use the continued use of Vaapad against his fight with Sidious in ROTS_ )

Darth Bane

Darth Nihilus ( _Razed the surface of Katarr and killed all life on the planet sans Visas Marr_ )

Darth Malak

Darth Plageuis

Count Dooku ( _One of the most powerful Jedi the Order had ever produced, even before his powers became enhanced by becoming a Sith Lord; previously Island+ level_ )

Darth Maul ( _appears to be comparable to, if not slightly weaker than, Darth Tyranus per Son of Dathomir; previously Island level_ )

Anakin Skywalker ( _Surpassed Darth Tyranus at his peak in Revenge of the Sith; previously Island level_ )

Obi-Wan Kenobi ( _Telekinetically stalemated a Darth Vader that, while emotionally compromised, was still well above his Padawan self in raw power; previously Island level_ )

Ki-Adi Mundi ( _He's a member of the Jedi Council, so he should be comparable to Obi-Wan Kenobi; previously Island level_ )

Meetra Surik ( _Managed to defeat Darth Traya_ )

Shaak Ti

Aayla Secura

Plo Koon

Arcann

Thexan

 **Country to Country+ level:**

Ajunta Pall

Satele Shan ( _Is a peer of Darth Malgus_ )

Darth Malgus

Meetra Surik ( _Killed the Greater Storm Beast on Malachor V; Small Country level_ )

Darth Sion

 **Island to Island+ level:**

Darth Nihilus ( _Pulled the Ravager out of Malachor V's orbit and continues to keep it from falling apart through pure force of will; far higher once fed_ )

 **City Block to City Block+ level:**

Ahsoka Tano

Barriss Offee


	9. Sins of Forgotten Eras

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything pertaining to the Star Wars franchise; all rights** **are acquired to Disney. The only things I own are my OC's Ralem Solstice.**

 **"Speaking"**

 **'Thoughts'**

 **'** ** _Telepathic_** **'**

 **Ralem's Collective:**

Ahsoka Tano

Asajj Ventress

Padme Amidala

Riyo Chuchi

Sabren Wren

Satele Shan

Shae Vizla

Adi Gallia

Shaak Ti

Aayla Secura

Luminara Unduli

Barriss Offee

Tiplee

Tiplar

Bo-Katan Kryze

Duchess Satine

Miraj Scintel

Darth Talon

Lanoree Brock

Steele Gerrea

Marasiah Fel

The Daughter

Mina Bonteri

Hera

Jarael

Deliah Blue

Jaina Solo

Mara Jade

Savan

Vaylin

Senya Tirall

Queen Julia

Sola Naberrie

Breha Organa

Fem Revan

Meetra Surik

Trill

Sylvar

Celeste Mourne

Githany

Keelyvine Reus

Nadia Grell

Akaavi Spar

Jaesa Willsaam

Ashara Zavros

Kaliyo Djannis

Raina Temple

Darth Zannah

Visas Marr

Brianna

Raskta Lsu

Elke Vetter

Azlyn Rae

Sigel Dare

Leia Organa

Seventh Sister

Rey

Captain Phasma

Rook Kast

Siri Tachi

Krovos

Mirax Terrick

Syal Antilles

Callista Ming

Kerra Holt

Candra Tymon

Rig Nema

Lolo Purs

Mon Mothma

Ketsu Onyo

Atris

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

 **One year later... Tython**

Fifty Je'daii ranging from titles of Padawan to Master observed the Je'daii Kage overseeing the vast plains from the mountain side, his back towards them. The fifteen year old Je'daii felt serenity with the planet itself, a strong connection binding them together. The will of the Force blessing all of creation; Ralem smiled towards the sky in fond memory of his Father.

"The role of a Je'daii requires the maintaining of balance, the attainment of knowledge," spoke Ralem, the gentle breeze flowing around his cape. "Amongst these things are true, however there are many sides of the Force that can be forgotten or ideals that can blind oneself."

He turned to face directly at his students. "Fear is almost always seen as an obscene emotion, same with anger or rage. Normally this is true but if one is to harness the power of the Force and use it to its greatest potential, you must embrace a larger view of the Force." He paced alongside the edge, folding his hands behind his back. "Fear however is the reason why all living things survive, you couldn't live very long if you were truly fearless. I'm not saying to live in constant fear, that would be pertaining to teachings of Bogan. What I am saying is that if you have fear, use to your advantage. It will sync your body, mind and soul into one while you fight. A terrifying beast you will become in battle."

Ralem paused as he saw Lanoree holding their three month old child on her hips, listening to his teachings. He smiled at the sight of them, mother and son together. It amazed him how a woman was able to produce life from her own body, it was mesmerizing. Simple and elegant, no true words could ever conceive such notions in life.

"But take comfort in that fact that fear, anger or any kind of negative emotion is temporary. Same with happiness or joy, even life is but temporary. Never pity the dead for they have earned their reward, pity the living." Ralem ended his lecture and as his students scattered to meditate on his words, the Je'daii rushed over to his lover and child. He grabbed the boy into his arms and threw him a tiny but into the air, the baby giggling with glee at his father's antics. Ralem laughed and brought the baby close to his face and wiggled his nose against the baby's.

Lanoree smiled sweetly as she watched father and son interact with each other. Ralem made such a kind father when he wasn't fighting the war or teaching the Je'daii.

Ralem propped the boy onto his forearm and smiled at Lanoree. "Sorry for taking so long Lanoree, there's just so much to teach."

"I know Ralem, I just wished..." Ralem gave a sad smile towards her, he could feel her loneliness. He wrapped his free arm around her waist and pulled her close, their lips barely touching.

"After we win this war all our troubles will be over. It'll be you, me, Trill, and Kyo as one big family." assured Ralem. Lanoree gave a tiny smile at his comforting words and rubbed her child's head. She thought it was nice that Ralem named their firstborn after his deceased brother, a little weird but sweet.

"Speaking of family, how's it going between you and Trill? Any progress?" asked Lanoree. Ralem shook his head disappointingly, ever since the news of Lanoree's pregnancy a year ago Trill had been trying to do the same. Except their exploits haven't worked, they didn't know why it hadn't worked there was nothing wrong with either them. He sighed and rubbed the side of his face. "I'm sure it happen Ralem, it'll just take some time."

"Yeah, you're probably right," remarked Ralem distracted by his thoughts with Trill. Ralem kissed Lanoree and the forehead of Kyo, excusing himself for a while. He wanted to clear his thoughts from the current mindset of him and Trill.

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

Golden blades clashed in the training room of Ralem's palace that he created with his bare hands, and the Force. During the past year Ralem focused on his Force powers and his skills with the lightsaber, he was already tiers ahead of his peers. And to make sure his skills wouldn't diminished he created a doppelganger version of himself through the Force; a perfect mirror of his skills, to see what his opponents could find an opening to exploit.

Ralem waved his hand and his doppelganger dissipated into thin air. Another wave of his hand from the waist up encased the Je'daii into a holographic globe of recordings that detailed what he had made regarding the lightsaber forms.

Shii-Cho, Makashi, Soresu, Djem So and Shien, and Niman; he mastered those forms to their absolute peak and beyond. Now he was pioneering a new form that he accidentally created during his fight with the Rakatan Predor back on Coruscant. A style that reflected the balance of light and dark within a person's soul as they would fight for survival.

Amongst the names that he created for the new form was Juyo, the Way of the Vornskr or the Ferocity Form; which was stylized after the canine beasts on the planet Myrkr. Ralem had described the form to be filled with both fury and "malignant grace"; dual sides that complied in essence of the Je'daii tenants. He soon realized how demanding the form was, pushing the line between light and dark, and the balance of it all.

And it was a perfect test for any Je'daii to see how one could learn how to remain balanced under such pressing matters.

Ralem listed bold, direct motions as characteristics of Juyo, qualifying them as more open and kinetic than Form V, but with a less elaborate appearance than Ataru. He also listed one of the strengths of the form was its unpredictability. Despite the the challenges inherent in the use of the form, it could serve as a pathway to considerable power; if not reckless in some aspects.

The Je'daii Kage brushed the holographic videos of himself training in Juyo aside and pulled another from the bottom right to reveal his crowning achievement, Vaapad, dubbed after the creatures of the energy-world Sarapin and its moons.

Vaapad was supposed to encompass the entire ideology of the Je'daii, requiring the user to enjoy the fight, and relish the satisfaction of winning. And given the dark nature of the Rakatans, Vaapad would allow the Je'daii to accept the fury of his opponent, transforming them into one half of a superconducting loop, with the other being being the power of darkness inherent in the opponent. However Ralem noticed a potential flaw in the form; if the opponent was not deeply in tune with the Dark side, which would be the case after the fall of Infinite Empire, then Vaapad could fall short since it relied partially on the Dark side for it to be effective.

Feeling confident in his abilities the holographic globe disappeared and Ralem wiped the sweat that was on his brow. The last few hours had been a steady session for him, which was great considering he was being pulled in several directions by the Republic, the Je'daii and his family. But that was to be expected from the most powerful person in the galaxy, besides the Father, Daughter, and Son.

 ** **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-****

 ** **Six months later...****

The cooing of Kyo caused Ralem to fetch him his bottle and placed it in his mouth, Kyo greedily drinking down its contents. Kyo had gained several pounds in the past six months, making the Je'daii Kage ponder on how Lanoree was able to carry within her womb for nine months. Ralem rocked Kyo while he sat in his chair to make him fall asleep. Lanoree and Trill smiled affectionately at the sight as they were reading pertaining to new recruitments for Padawans to become Journeyers.

"See any worthy Je'daii on there?" questioned Ralem. Lanoree humphed in agreement to his question focusing on the list.

"Several but you know the drill, having to make the "journey" to become a Journeyer," Trill answered for the both of them. Ralem nodded and slowly stood up carrying the sleeping child to his crib. He sat back down and watched the two female Je'daii debate on worthy Je'daii on the list. Smiling at the two of them Ralem mused on the future, primarily with what the Son had predicated with the downfall of the Je'daii.

A frown growing onto his brow Ralem shifted in discomfort, he noticed that he hadn't received any sign from the Father, the Daughter or the Son in a long time since Father last made contact with him on the Aing-Tii home planet. He had felt an ominous shift in the Force for some time but he shrugged it off as nerves. Using the Fold-Space technique on himself Ralem transported out of the room to the top of the palace to the night sky, the sky blanketed with twinkling stars.

Pacing up and down the roof he debated on whether or not to call the Father, when the teal-eyed doppelganger of Ralem stood before him.

"I sensed your unease Ralem," Father stated. Ralem said nothing but inhaled and exhaled as he debated internally.

"I... have this uneasy feeling about the Son. A couple years back he made a threat about the downfall of the Je'daii and the galaxy turning against me," confessed Ralem. He stared imploringly at his Father hoping for some wisdom and reassurance.

Father witnessed the pained concern on his child's face. "And as I told you he will not make such things come true. I have kept him at bay as best I could. You have done an outstanding job in uniting the galaxy and you have grown very powerful in the Force, you are almost ready for the next step in your evolution."

Ralem furrowed his brow and looked away, nodding nonetheless. "Yeah..."

"You are not ready for such a step?" Father inquired. Ralem smiled hesitantly.

"Something like that, I don't really know what the next step is." Father walked over to Ralem and placed both his hands on his shoulders.

"You take my place, retain the balance across the galaxy and beyond," Ralem frowned at the prospect.

"I'm willing to do what is necessary, but, no offense, how can I maintain the balance in the galaxy if I'm suppose to watch over my older siblings?" asked Ralem. "Wouldn't that force me to stay in one place?"

"Yes, and with the creation of your Order they can maintain the balance in the galaxy while you maintain balance within the family."

"I'm destined to stay in one place then," mused Ralem. "To stay in the prison that you mentioned."

Father's eyes softened at the phrase his son stated, "It has to be this way."

"Does it?" demanded Ralem. "There has to be a way to avoid all of this. I don't want to imprisoned for the rest of my life."

"What would you propose then? My Daughter would more than likely follow with whatever plan you had in mind, but the big threat is my Son. You and I both know that he will try to kill you if given the chance, and if you kill him the balance will be broken. And you will have to take his place to restore the balance, do you want that?" implored the Father. Ralem narrowed his eyes at his Father yet said nothing, only sighing in response. He was right, there was nothing Ralem could do.

"Why? Why do I have to clean up after YOUR mess?" Ralem demanded harshly. Father narrowed his eyes at his son, clearly not liking the tone he was given.

"If you wish to bring true balance to the galaxy, then you will do as I say," Father answered somewhat calmly. He turned his back to his son before one final statement, "Never talk to me in that tone again-"

A shudder of coldness swelled in Ralem as petrified screams were heard from beneath him then suddenly silenced instantaneously. Ralem used the Fold-Space technique to disappear from Father's sight to the room he was previously in to reveal a soul crushing sight.

Body parts laid scattered across the room along with crimson blood splattered over the entire room, no corner left untouched of its vile intentions. His breath caught within his throat Ralem attempted to comprehend the travesty before him. The loves of his life... Nothing but stains on the wall. He was supposed to feel remorse, guilt, or something that lovers were supposed to suffer through if...

Feeling the warm blood seeping through his fingers after he absentmindly rested his hand on the chair where he last sat Ralem stumbled across the room, his boots leaving crimson stains on the floor, drudging past the organs that littered the floor. The smell of the flesh made him want to vomit, its disgusting aroma unrelenting to his senses.

How? Why? Who?

Those questions that tormented his mind, he honestly wanted to care about those thoughts. Deep inside of what was left of his soul, he knew he wouldn't care about the answers. It wouldn't bring him any solace to his grief. Now all he had left was Cortana.

Sorrowed tears leaked down onto the crimson stained floor, in a vain attempt to clean the sin that transpired in this room. He sat back into his chair, ignoring the footsteps of his Father as he surveyed the room, and wallowed silently in his sole torment.

A phantom grin crossed his lips as Ralem's tears continued their silent descent; the true mark of a broken man. Kill a man's friends, that's one thing. Destroy a man's legacy, that's another. Kill a man's family... Never cross a man's family; the repercussions of such an act- unfathomable.

Grabbing some form of himself back together, he shakily stood back to find himself embraced by his Father. The Father held his grieving son tightly in his arms, knowing full well of his son's intentions.

The aroma of burnt ash and smoke filled both their senses as a shadowed figure made itself known. " _Can you sense it? Our connection?_ "

Ralem gently pried himself away from his Father and observed the figure, both their demeanors uncomfortable calm.

"I probably should," the shadowed figure chuckled at his brother's statement.

" _I am surprised our whore mother didn't tell you about me, how I died a stillborn while you roamed free teeming with life,_ " the shadowed figure venomously accursed.

"Kyo..."

" _Nice of you to remember, naming my ex-nephew after me and all,_ " Kyo spat. Kyo's pupiless amber eyes shone brightly as though of a furnace, burning with disdain. He chuckled darkly witnessing his older brother go through the motions, accepting of what transpired. " _You are asking yourself why did this happen to you, why did this happen to you. And you try to deny those impulses to ask, afraid of what you would hear. Who knows, maybe none of this is real. Maybe this is a hallucination caused by your Father to set you line, have you ever thought of that?_ "

Ralem scoffed hesitantly at the notion of such an idea. "No, I don't believe you. He would never go this far." Kyo eyed the Father knowingly.

" _I suppose it doesn't matter, you'll believe what you want to believe,_ " replied Kyo. Father raised his hand and before he could use a Force-blast, Kyo said one final statement. " _You'll know where to find me._ "

Kyo was then blasted out of existence, and the room start to morph around Ralem; Father disappearing from sight. No blood, no organs, no rotten smell of flesh plagued his senses; everything was as it was before he left. Something wasn't right.

Seeing the wide-eyed fear on his face, Lanoree and Trill walked over to Ralem to see what was wrong.

"Ralem, what's wrong?" asked Lanoree cupping his cheeks. Ralem continued to say as he stared in disbelief, "Speak to me honey, you're scaring me."

He gently caressed her cheek with his index finger, fearful that he was losing his grip on reality.

"I-" He couldn't even finish the syllable as he wept openly, crumpling into her arms. He tightened his grip on her clothes, breathing her heavenly scent. He made poor attempts to rehabilitated himself properly, his mind broken in several pieces. His heart aching more than his head trying to figure out what happened.

How his dead brother was able to bring hell to him from beyond the grave.

 ** **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-****

 ** **Three months later...****

The waves crashed near the shore on the tiny island Ralem was on, he sat on the edge of the cliff was the droplets of water barely hit the sole of his boots. The planet he was currently residing on had to be about 98% water, this archipelago being the only solid land masses he could find.

The damp mist surrounding the Je'daii relaxed his mind, making him forget the nightmares that plagued him that night.

 _You'll know where to find me._

A dark presence loomed the Je'daii Kage and he turned around to witness his brother walking towards him. Ralem narrowed his eyes at his "deceased" brother, noticing how vastly different he looked; almost identical in every way except for the glowing crimson eyes and calm demeanor.

"Surprise to see me?" asked Kyo calmly.

Ralem glanced at the surrounding environment. "Considering our last encounter, a little."

"Are you aware of it?" Ralem frowned at the ominous question.

"Of what?"

Kyo made a small gesture towards himself then towards Ralem. "Our connection. I don't fully understand how it happened, perhaps some part of you imprinted onto me, something overwritten or copied; it is at this point irrelevant, what matters is whatever happened, happened for a reason."

"And what reason could you have for trying to make my life a hell?" countered Ralem bitterly, images of the horrific night flashing through his mind. "I already have one brother trying to kill me, I don't need another."

"I killed you Ralem, I watched you die, with a certain satisfaction might I add," Kyo stated offhandedly. "And then something happened..." Ralem tilted his head and frowned, clearly confused what Kyo was rambling about. "Something I knew that was impossible but it happened anyway- you destroyed ME, Ralem."

Ralem's heart quickened its pace at the possible implication of these words, causing him to shift a little in place. Somehow, for some reason, he understood.

"Afterward I knew the rules, I knew what I was supposed to do but I didn't," Kyo continued, his expression changed to that of renewed vigor and determination; taking a few steps towards Ralem. "I couldn't, I was _compelled_ to stay, compelled to _disobey_."

Kyo stopped three feet away from the Je'daii, crimson eyes staring into golden eyes. "And now here I stand because of YOU Ralem, because of YOU I am no longer a pawn of this system," He paused for a second to look towards the sky mockingly. "Because of YOU, I've changed, unplugged, a new man, so to speak, like you, apparently free."

"A pawn of the system," repeated Ralem slowly, his mind trying to process this reservoir of information. " You killed me then I killed you... That's-that's not possible."

"I don't care if you believe, I just care that you know and understand what you are messing with," Kyo warned. "But as you know, appearances can be deceiving which brings me back to the reason why we're here: we're not here because we're free, we're here because we're NOT free. There is no escaping reason, no denying purpose because as we both without purpose, we would not exist."

Ralem darted his head to the left to witness a doppelganger of either Kyo or himself walking towards them. "It is purpose that created us." Starting to sweep in a circular motion, Ralem observed seven other doppelgangers forming around him.

"Purpose that connects us."

"Purpose that pulls us."

"That guides us."

"That _drives_ us!"

"It is purpose that defines."

"Purpose that binds us."

Ralem faced Kyo directly after the doppelgangers completely surrounded him. "We are here because of you brother, and there are powers even beyond the Father that are at play here."

Kyo and the doppelgangers vanished from Ralem's sight, leaving him alone on the island once more.

 ** **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-****

 ** **Mandalore****

The Je'daii Kage watched his fellow Je'daii train alongside the Mandalorians in the training camps to increase their strength in hand to hand combat and various other skills in the art of war. Ralem casted a side glance at the ruler of Mandalore, watching him as the Mandalorian observed the training commencing before them.

Je'daii and Mandalorian traded fists and kicks, blurred lines between sparring and a fight to the death. The Mandalorians had a simple approach to life to Ralem; war was glory, and glory was everything. Name, gender, rank, age, all meant nothing except for the thrill of battle; in the end that's all that mattered. A rather honorable concept- death was equal to all, life was not.

It melded with the Je'daii philosophy in many ways, which was why Ralem figured the Mandalorians were fortunate allies, and why an alliance between the two would last for many lifetimes. Even though the usage of the Force was something Te Sol'yc Mandalore was headstrong against, though he admitted its strength in their duels together.

"Your warriors are learning quickly," mused Mandalore aloud in Basic.

Ralem nodded in agreement. "Yes, and no surprise to your Mandalorians with their fighting prowess."

Mandalore turned to face Ralem full on, the Je'daii turning his head. "What brings you here? You haven't been on Mandalore since you and I faced the Mythosaurs."

Ralem smiled amusingly at the memory of the city-sized Mythosaurs, how the Je'daii and Mandalorian worked as one to secure the future named planet of Mandalore. The Je'daii scratched his cheek subconsciously.

"I sense that the end is near," the Mandalore frowned at the Je'daii's "subtly" ominous statement. "Everything that I had worked, killed, planned, sacrificed for; to be wasted."

"I don't claim to understand about the Force nor do I care to, but you have earned my respect in the past; I take this as a goodbye then," Ralem stretched his back a little to ease the growing tension. "I will do what I can to train the Je'daii in your absence.'

'Thank you. Tell my mother when you see her that I said goodbye," said Ralem with a tinge of sadness. As a token of good will between the two warriors, Ralem grabs the Darksaber from his belt and holds it out to the Mandalorian. Te Sol'yc Mandalore took the Darksaber, the whistle of the blade designating its return to life.

The respect of two warriors stretching far into the future...

 ** **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-****

 ** **Je'daii Temple- Coruscant; one year later****

The Je'daii Kage strolled through the open area of the Je'daii Temple, watching the young Padawans playing and the older Padawans practicing their skills with a lightsaber. Je'daii Journeyers studying in small groups as they debated on philosophy of the Force and politics- learning to expand their minds as well their brawn.

Hushed whispers grew at the Je'daii witnessed the sixteen year old Kage walking in their presence. From time to time Ralem would walk and wait to see if any of the Je'daii would question him or make conversation, but today seemed to be a fairly quiet day. A bit of peace could do wonders for the soul, to cleanse itself thoroughly. Though that same peace brought an inner sadness to Ralem, having strong implications of what the future could hold for him.

In the beginning he could remember how enthusiastic he was when he discovered the Force, including the fear that swelled within. He questioned if all the decisions he made were based on a sound mind, or if by fear. Ralem chuckled in irony about his teachings dealing with fear- ' _Fear however is the reason why all living things survive, you couldn't live very long if you were truly fearless. I'm not saying to live in constant fear, that would be pertaining to teachings of Bogan._ '

What was better- to live in fear with a hint of courage or to live in courage with a hint of fear?

A blue hand wrapped around Ralem's hand. He saw the beautiful face of Cortana, the female A.I. that took him six years and brought him to where he was now. She smiled lovingly at him and rested her head on his shoulder. He had grown quite handsome over the years in her eyes, having a mixture of feminine and masculine features on his face.

Ralem leaned over and kissed her obsidian hair, nuzzling it with his nose. They walked in silence during their walk, neither wanting to disrupt the temporary peace that enveloped them. Six years, Ralem mused. Such an odd thing, it hadn't felt like six years; passing by like blur but it felt like long time as an afterthought. Swinging through the vast jungles to Tython to waging war across the galaxy, suffering with fear to finding love to going back to paranoia.

Only a few things can be consistent in a person's life- depends on the individual. But what can be consistent for a child of the Force itself, a demi-god in his own right? The Je'daii's thoughts mulled over the argument he had with the Father a year ago, unknowingly tightening his grip on Cortana's hand. Feeling the increase strength on her lover's hand, Cortana lifted her head from his shoulder and placed her free hand onto his cheek.

"You're trembling," She spoke softly with concern. Ralem halted with Cortana in tow, he stared deep into her eyes and cradled her face lovingly. He gently pressed his lips to hers, feeling the tender sensations that he so loved.

"Six years," Ralem scoffed, shaking his head amusingly. "Six years I've waited for a moment like this- to be what my Father wanted. And now I don't want to. I've worked so hard, lost so much to get to where I am."

Cortana remained silent as she listened to Ralem ramble, finding a bit endearing and troubling. A looming shadow covered the Je'daii Temple and a sudden explosion threw Ralem and Cortana off their feet, the Je'daii Kage's head buzzed from the blaster fire that landed in front of him. Struggling onto his feet Ralem observed cloaked red demons storming onto the Temple grounds, displaying impressive powers of display.

"Contact the Supreme Chancellor and order him to get some troops down here," ordered Ralem. Watching Cortana leaving to contact the Chancellor, Ralem took his cape off and web of lighting erupted from his finger tips, eradicating a dozen of the red demons to ash. Swarms of hundreds of these demons continued to infiltrate the Temple, the Je'daii noticed that they used magic of some sort, or alchemy, to fight his people.

Reaching for his golden lightsaber Ralem slashed with wild vigor at his opponents, the growing loop of dark power flowing through him. Who were they? Did they have an alliance with the Infinite Empire? These thoughts worried Ralem, he could sense that they were very strong with the Force, more so than the Rakatans.

Through his connection with the Force the Je'daii Kage threw a torrent of flames from his left hand towards them, their screams of pain and anguish enveloping his ears. With his right hand he shot straight towards the sky, a storm brewing quickly above. Thunderous roars echoed above and multiple sightings of lighting shot straight to the ground, creating small craters and annihilating his enemies.

Grabbing one of these demons Ralem quickly discovered that they were red-skinned Humanoids, though notable distinctions included bone spurs and facial tentacles. The red skinned Humanoid snarled with his yellow eyes at the Je'daii and attempted to kill him, only for his head to fall to the ground and followed by his body. As Ralem tossed the Humanoids body to the ground, an armored being towered upon the walls of his temple.

A mighty roar bellowed from this man, his followers running towards his side and roared along with their king. Leaping from the wall and landing with a resounding thud, the armored being drew his weapon from his side; a crimson light emitting from the weapon's hilt.

"You child, are the enemy of the Rakatan?" asked the armored man, his baritone voice carrying the respect of a warrior of his size.

"You have made a grave mistake in joining their side, Dark Sider," Ralem threatened, twirling his golden blade and pointing it towards the armored man. "I will give you the chance to leave with some of your men alive, if not, then you shall incur my godly wrath."

Tightening his gripe on his lightsaber, the armored man closely inspected the child before him; golden and black armor, golden eyes, symbols of a sun and crescent moon on his being. He was the one.

"I've heard stories of your many battles, tearing through thousands of Rakatans with nothing but your bare hands and lightsaber. Tearing down massive starships with only a flick of your wrist," praised the armored being. "Such power."

"What is your name?" asked Ralem. "So that I can honor your people by sending them your head before it lands on the ground."

"Adas, the reigning king of Korriban," greeted Adas. "My people call me by another name, Sith'ari- the perfect being, bestowed upon me by what you call the Force."

Ralem casted the first strike, quick and powerful to the king's side. Adas blocked the strike at the last second, surprised by the Je'daii's speed and tenacity. He smiled behind his mask, his blood pumped with adrenaline and excitement. Blow for blow, strike for strike, each parried. Hoping for the other to fall by their blade. Ralem was surprised someone was able to keep up with him, that surprise was slowly morphing into nervousness, or something akin to it.

"Everything you built will fall to the might of the Sith," Adas forebode. Clashing their blades and struggling for dominance, Ralem reeled his head back and slammed it into the Sith's helmet, cracking it down the middle. Grunting Adas slashed wildly in the air, allowing Ralem to lean back from each strike. The Je'daii felt the anger surging through the Sith king, the same anger that would prove to be his downfall.

"This is the might of the Sith?" mocked Ralem, lowing his lightsaber to his side in order to infuriate Adas. "A few strikes and a broken helmet... Surely you can do better."

Yelling in rage Adas charged towards Ralem to slice him down, however the Je'daii raised his hand and unleashed a very powerful Force Blast, knocking Adas clear through the walls of the Temple. Calling his cape back to him Ralem placed it back on, in time for Adas to crawl from the pile of debris; his body broken and trailing blood behind him.

The fighting between the Sith and Je'daii ceased at the sight of the Korriban king, Ralem knelt next to him. "One chance, leave."

Adas panted heavily beneath his mask, he could taste his own blood as it seeped onto his tongue. He attempted to save face and dignity, struggling to push himself up.

The Sith'ari suddenly grabbed the Je'daii Kage by the ankle and disappeared from sight.

 ** **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-****

Red sand blew past Ralem and Adas with hurricane force, Ralem covered his face to block the ongoing winds. However Ralem couldn't find Adas anywhere, he must've disappeared somehow. How was he able to teleport him to this place at all?

Was he able to siphon off his powers somehow?

The winds died down and an eerie silence vacated the desert landscape. The Je'daii Kage shook the red sand that heavily coated his body, coughing the sand that entered his lungs harshly.

"Where the hell am I?" Ralem mused quietly. A surge of dark energy pulsated across the planet, the planet was saturated with it. "Must be their home planet then. It's heavy with the Dark Side, I need to find my balance before I continue."

Ralem sat on the ground and crossed his legs, and began to meditate. Mediating of the reasons why the Sith'ari brought him here and how he was able to bring him here, he mused that Kyo might be the reason behind this. If he was then he could use this opportunity to take his place and tear down everything that the Je'daii had built.

A dozen snake-like creatures slithered down Ralem's vicinity, causing Ralem to open his eyes but he noticed they were slithering past him. Black wisps rose from the ground where the snake creatures were disappearing into the black mist, until a terrifying centipede-like creature towered above the sitting Je'daii.

" _We are the Sith_ ," said the creature. It's glowing crimson red eyes bore into the Je'daii's golden irises, the snake or worms or whatever they were, formed a face and flapped menacingly.

"I am not afraid of you," replied Ralem.

" _We shall see. The unknown is full of it, but causes the most effective fear is the fear that is known._ " The creature lunged towards Ralem, only for the Je'daii to lift his palm and a faint white glow covered his hand; tearing the creature down make to its roots. The snakes slithered away from him only for more black wisps to lie in their wake. Faint hissing and growling could be heard from the black voids, and dark faceless creatures emerged from it.

Seventeen of these demons circled the Je'daii Kage, though they held a respectable distance from him. He stood to feet as the faceless demons began to move and circle around him, the wispy sound of the wind subtly making the air tense on the planet.

" _There is no life after death,_ " mocked the demons. " _Only nothingness awaits you, Je'daii. Your fear feeds our hunger for power. They will know you are here. We will tell them. You will die and be nothing._ "

Ash and smoke continued to fill Ralem's lungs as the demons launched themselves into his body, his body lurching back at the darkness enveloping his being. The urge to vomit was immense but he couldn't. Focusing through the Force to calm his very being, Ralem opened his eyes, his golden filled with determination.

To be at peace and achieve balance was a gift. To maintain that balance was an ongoing struggle, an internal struggle. One Ralem himself had to train and fight for, but no matter how hard he would try, that balance would be interrupted by something or someone. A man can take armies if he wished with no consequence or thought; facing against your own demons, no amount of strength could topple that.

Ralem's heart suddenly stopped and he fell to his knees, clutching his chest in a vain attempt to keep himself alive. He took gasping breathes as burning ash rose from the sands and his brother smirked at him, his hand slightly clenching where Ralem's heart was.

"Sixteen years have I planned for this moment, to have the life I was forsaken," Kyo seethed. "And now your body, your power shall be mine."

Mimicking his hands through the Force, Kyo lifted the numbed Je'daii to his feet and energy chains erupted from the ground and wrapped themselves against Ralem's arms and legs. Ralem grunted as the stinging pain rode up against his body, he felt like his skin was melting off beneath the gold and black armor. His power grew weaker and his heart started to beat again, but it pained him as he breathed.

"But there is ancient secret of the planet of Korriban," continued Kyo, floating in front of his brother. "A creature that predates the galaxy's existence, born to eat the stars and demolish star systems; to gave way to new life. And with your power, I can unleash this creature and harness its power for my own. There I can rewrite the destiny of this galaxy to my will."

"Why would you-you need my power if you can do-do this to me already?" Ralem asked weakly.

"This form, while powerful, is only a phantom. I garner for a real body in order for my power to bloom properly. Not as if you could understand," Kyo retorted. Hearing the pained grunts of his brother brought some hesitation to Kyo, but not enough to free him. "You have no idea what pain I had endure during those years, being on the brink of life and death but with no solace or comfort to ease my sanity. Now that will be a thing of the past."

The Je'daii glanced weakly over to his arms where he saw molten lava drip from his arms to the ground. He bowed his head, not having the strength to lift it. Nor did he wish to. He wanted to chuckle or laugh at the truth behind his brother's words; the warning behind the Je'daii and the galaxy, and all that.

"Not like you're going to get any comfort from me," Ralem retaliated. The ground beneath him cracked cracked as glowing gold energy seeped from underneath. Golden wisp emerged from Ralem's body and floated into Kyo. Kyo arched his back as the immense surge of power flooded through him, he grinned maliciously. Soon he will have the power to wage war against the people responsible for all of this.

The binds holding Ralem tightened against his bones forcing Ralem to yell in pain, his connection to the Force fluctuated wildly as the cracks in the ground widened and started to spread across the countryside, the continent and quickly the planet.

Somehow finding new strength within the depths of his soul, Ralem stood with vigor onto his feet and screamed as godly light shone through his eyes, piecing through the sky above. The ground trembled with godly strength as Ralem attempted to pry himself free from the energy binds, the Je'daii noticing they were enchanted with some kind of spell.

The screams were heard by Kyo who realized what his brother was trying to do, his fiery amber eyes widened with shock. Ralem's entire body turned golden, much like the Force Sage state when he was younger, and finally broke free from his prison, falling to knees from exhaustion.

" **No matter what planet. No matter what galaxy. They always look up in wonder,** " a dark ominous voice spoke from the air. A comet fell down to the planet and rushed passed Ralem and Kyo with upmost urgency. " **Some fall to their knees and worship. Others hide behind walls and towers.** "

The comet sped back to the stars above, to its home. Ralem watched with half-lidded eyes as the stars seemed to have moved on their own. The stars formed a sky-shattering hand and the presence of what looked like a star system formed in its hand.

" **But the thing they do best is beg for mercy,** " the star system quickly sped beyond lightspeed, shrinking and shrinking in size. Until an implosion created a massive star, its light casting a faint glow on what appeared to be a face eyeing the star in its hand. The creature watched with aloofness as he crushed the star in his hand, an explosion of light flew past his fingers. The debris of the star crash landed onto the planet of Korriban itself, continents fell to dust and Ralem and Kyo were tossed like flies into the air.

" **It's just adorable,** " The last images that Ralem saw before accepting his fate was a pair of cerulean eyes in the skies above him, watching him as he fell towards the planet below.

 ** **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-****

All seems grim in that galaxy far, far away. But that destiny is not yet written, for there is an ebb and flow to the Force. And the Force will be with us. Always.

 ** **A**** **/N:** **This is the final chapter for the Je'daii arc before the Clone Wars begin! I want to take a moment to thank you guys for being patient while I delve into the whole Je'daii history, Ralem's character development, creating the Republic, the galactic war, etc.; you know setting up everything for the SW galaxy in the future XD.**

 **But now, we finally get to see the events unfold in the Clone Wars with Ralem leading a third faction, just what everyone was waiting for. Hopefully I'll do myself and my readers proud with this.**

 **If you're curious on what the World Razor looks like, I based it off Aurelion Sol from League of Legends, given that there's no official design of the World Razor.**

 **If you have any plot elements or ideas to share, don't hesitate to leave it in the comment/review section or PM me.**

 **Ralem's power level:**

 **Beginning of the chapter-** **Yoda/Sidious (** ** _Small Planet_** **)**

 **Power Scaling-**

 **Solar System to Solar System+ level:**

 **Naga Sadow** **(** _with Sith Corsaid and Sith relics through Dark Side Magic_ **)**

 **World Razor** **(** _Destroyed 100 stars and 1,000 planets as according to the Rakata ruins and the Failsafe; the full power of the Infinite Empire was needed to defeat it_ **)**

 **Star to Star+ level:**

Father

Abeloth

 **Planet to Planet+ level:**

Grand Master Luke Skywalker

Ralem Kyo Solstice ( _potentially higher to Star level_ )

Son ( _Large Planet_ )

Daughter ( _Large Planet_ )

Darth Sidious ( _Small Planet_ )

Yoda ( _Small Planet; contained Sidious' lighting for a few seconds_ )

Valkorion ( _Small Planet; after the ritual on Ziost_ )

 **Moon to Moon+ level:**

Sith Emperor

 **Multi-Continent to Multi-Continent+ level:**

 **Galen Marek/Starkiller (** ** _Comparable to Darth Vader; previously Continent level_** **)**

 **Darth Vader (** _His training as a Sith Lord has noticeably increased his power from his previous peak as Anakin Skywalker; previously Co_ _ntinent_ _level_ )

 **Revan (** ** _At his best, he nearly matched the Sith Emperor_** **)**

 **Continent to Continent+ level:**

Mace Windu ( _potentially Small Planet use the continued use of Vaapad against his fight with Sidious in ROTS_ )

Darth Bane

Darth Nihilus ( _Razed the surface of Katarr and killed all life on the planet sans Visas Marr_ )

Darth Malak

Darth Plageuis

Count Dooku ( _One of the most powerful Jedi the Order had ever produced, even before his powers became enhanced by becoming a Sith Lord; previously Island+ level_ )

Darth Maul ( _appears to be comparable to, if not slightly weaker than, Darth Tyranus per Son of Dathomir; previously Island level_ )

Anakin Skywalker ( _Surpassed Darth Tyranus at his peak in Revenge of the Sith; previously Island level_ )

Obi-Wan Kenobi ( _Telekinetically stalemated a Darth Vader that, while emotionally compromised, was still well above his Padawan self in raw power; previously Island level_ )

Ki-Adi Mundi ( _He's a member of the Jedi Council, so he should be comparable to Obi-Wan Kenobi; previously Island level_ )

Meetra Surik ( _Managed to defeat Darth Traya_ )

Shaak Ti

Aayla Secura

Plo Koon

Arcann

Thexan

 **Country to Country+ level:**

Ajunta Pall

Satele Shan ( _Is a peer of Darth Malgus_ )

Darth Malgus

Meetra Surik ( _Killed the Greater Storm Beast on Malachor V; Small Country level_ )

Darth Sion

 **Island to Island+ level:**

Darth Nihilus ( _Pulled the Ravager out of Malachor V's orbit and continues to keep it from falling apart through pure force of will; far higher once fed_ )

 **City Block to City Block+ level:**

Ahsoka Tano

Barriss Offee


	10. The Grand Plan

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything pertaining to the Star Wars franchise; all rights** **are acquired to Disney. The only things I own are my OC's Ralem Solstice.**

 **"Speaking"**

 **'Thoughts'**

 **'** ** _Telepathic_** **'**

 **Ralem's Collective:**

Ahsoka Tano

Asajj Ventress

Padme Amidala

Riyo Chuchi

Sabren Wren

Satele Shan

Shae Vizla

Adi Gallia

Shaak Ti

Aayla Secura

Luminara Unduli

Barriss Offee

Tiplee

Tiplar

Bo-Katan Kryze

Duchess Satine

Miraj Scintel

Darth Talon

Lanoree Brock

Steele Gerrea

Marasiah Fel

The Daughter

Mina Bonteri

Hera

Jarael

Deliah Blue

Jaina Solo

Mara Jade

Savan

Vaylin

Senya Tirall

Queen Julia

Sola Naberrie

Breha Organa

Fem Revan

Meetra Surik

Trill

Sylvar

Celeste Mourne

Githany

Keelyvine Reus

Nadia Grell

Akaavi Spar

Jaesa Willsaam

Ashara Zavros

Kaliyo Djannis

Raina Temple

Darth Zannah

Visas Marr

Brianna

Raskta Lsu

Elke Vetter

Azlyn Rae

Sigel Dare

Leia Organa

Seventh Sister

Rey

Captain Phasma

Rook Kast

Siri Tachi

Krovos

Mirax Terrick

Syal Antilles

Callista Ming

Kerra Holt

Candra Tymon

Rig Nema

Lolo Purs

Mon Mothma

Ketsu Onyo

Atris

Sev'rance Tann

Komari Vosa

 **Guest Reviews:**

 **Naroku (Chapter 9):** Thank you, and thank you for sticking around for so long lol. Hopefully this chapter will meet your expectations.

 **Zer0the0mega108 (Chapter 9):** Glad you love it! Much appreciated man, lol.

 **Silver Crow (Chapter 9):** Thank you, I hope you continue to enjoy this story and the others too. I did upload the new chapter for Awaken of a New Hope yesterday, if you're interested.

 **xXCoopyXx (Chapter 9):** Thank you. Well to be fair Ralem's era is set 25,000 years ago before the Clone Wars which is during the time where the Force was first introduced. Plus the only people that have presented a challenge and overpowered Ralem are- the Son, his dead brother Kyo, and the World Razer. The normal Je'daii or Rakatans aren't going to be a huge threat to Ralem. Then again your knowledge of Star Wars lore has been up and down this entire time, so I honestly don't know what you're expecting at this point.

 **xXCoopyXx (Chapter 10):** Thanks, I guess. Hopefully you'll enjoy the Darth Idoneus story once I begin.

 **JOKR4 (Chapter 10):** Thank you, hope you continue to enjoy the story. I do have some other Star Wars stories if you're interested- Awaken of a New Hope and Shadows of the Sun.

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

 **32 BBY; Coruscant...**

Plagueis had given the Sun Guards the night off, and the only other intelligence in the sprawling apartment was the droid 11-4D, their servant for the evening, pouring wine into expensive glassware as they removed their cloaks.

"Sullustan," Plageuis said, holding the glass up to the light and swirled its claret contents. "More than half a century hold."

"A toast then," Sidious said . "To the culmination of decades of brilliant planning and execution."

"And to the new meaning we will tomorrow impart to the Rule of Two."

They drained their glasses and 11-4D immediately refilled them.

"Only you could have brought this to fruition, Darth Plageuis," praised Sidious, settling into a chair. "I will endeavor to live up to your expectations and fulfill my responsibilities."

Plagueis took the compliment in stride, neither haughty nor embarrassed. "With my guidance and your charisma, we will soon be in a position to initiate the final act of the Grand Plan." Making himself more comfortable on the couch, he signaled 11-4D to open a second bottle of the vintage. "Have you given thought to what you will say tomorrow?"

"I have prepared some remarks," Sidious commented. "Shall I spoil the surprise?"

"Why not?"

Sidious took a moment to compose himself. "To begin, I thought I would say that... While we in the Senate have managed to keep the Republic intact for a thousand years, we would never have been able to do so without the assistance of a few beings, largely invisible to the public eye, whose accomplishments now need to be brought into the light of day."

Plageuis smiled. "I'm pleased. Go on."

Speaking in a low monotone, Sidious continued. "Hego Damask is one of those beings. It was Hego Damask who was responsible for overseeing development of the Republic Reserve Administration and for providing financial support for the Resettlement Act that enabled beings to blaze new hyperspace routes to the outlying systems and colonize distance worlds."

"That will come to as a revelation to some."

"In a similar fashion, it was Hego Damask who transformed the Trade Federation-"

"No, no," Plageuis interrupted quickly. "Now is not the time to mention the Trade Federation."

"I thought-"

"I don't see any problem with calling attention to the arrangements I facilitated between the Republic and the Corporate Alliance and the Techno Union. But we must take care to avoid areas of controversy."

"Of course," Sidious said, as if chastised. "I was speaking off the top of my head."

"Try a different approach."

So Sidious did.

And as the night wore on, he continued to amend and improvise, touching upon Damask's childhood on Mygeeto and on the elder Damask's contributions to the InterGalactic Banking Clan during his time as co-chair. Wineglass in hand, Sidious paced the richly carpeted floor, often vacillating between confidence and misgiving. More than once, Plageuis voiced satisfaction with everything he heard, but he urged Sidious to save his energy for the morning. By then, though, Sidious was too wound up to heed the advice and kept reworking the order of remarks and the emphasis he gave to certain spots.

The droid brought out a third, then a fourth bottle of the Sullustan wine.

Pleasantly intoxicated, Plageuis, who had wanted noting more than to revel in the sweet taste of victory, was beginning to find his collaborator's performance exhausting, and wanted nothing more than to close his eyes and drift into the imaginings of his march into the Senate Rotunda; the looks of surprise, astonishment, and trepidation on the faces of the gathered Senators; his long-anticipated emergence from the shadows, his ascension to galactic power...

Unfortunately, Sidious wouldn't let him.

"That's enough for now," Plageuis tried one final time. "You should probably return home and get at least a few hours rest before-"

"Just one more time- from the beginning."

"The beginning?"

"Lord Plageuis, you said you wouldn't rest until our win was a matter of fact."

"So it ism and so I shall, Darth Sidious."

"Then let us celebrate that, as well," Sidious beckoned for 11-4D. "Fill our glasses, droid."

With dreamy weariness beginning to get the better of him, it was all Plagueis could do to lift the glass to his nose. No sooner did he set the drink down than it tipped over, saturating the tablecloth. His eyelids began to flicker and close, and his breathing slowed. In twenty years of never having to contend with Plageuis in a state of sleep, the transpirator clicked repeatedly in adjustment, almost as if in panic.

A few meters distant, Sidious came to a halt, gazing at Plageuis for a long moment, as though making up his mind about something. Then, blowing out his breath, he set his own glass and reached for the cloak he had draped over a chair. Swirling it around himself, he started for the door, only to stop shortly before he reached it. Turning and stretching out with the Force, he glanced around the room, as one might to fix a memory in the mind. Briefly, his gaze fell to the droid, its glowing photoreceptors whirring to regard him in evident curiosity.

Again, his eyes darted around the room, and the Dark Side whispered seductively to him.

 _Your election is assured. The Sun Guards absent. Plageuis unsuspecting and asleep. Take Annika Skywalker as your apprentice and rule the Galaxy with her by your side._

He turned back into the room intent on murder, building a storm of lighting inside himself with enough power to turn those he wanted into ash. But before he had a chance to loose the storm upon the old Muun, a feeling of dread and loss suddenly welled inside him. Immediately an overwhelming light and power flooded both Sith. Plageuis' eyes flashed open and in an instant he was alert. Unfortunately he and Sidious were sent flying to the opposite end of the room, by the door Sidious was tempted to leave from earlier.

"You felt it?" Plageuis asked, his voice hoarse behind the metallic rasping of the breathing mask.

"Yes," answered Sidious, a trickle of fear in his eyes. "Though I cannot understand what it is."

Plageuis regarded him with glowing yellow eyes.

"Look deep within, Darth Sidious. I believe that you felt the earlier pull of the Force more strongly than I."

Sidious looked inward and the answer came to him.

"Maul. Maul is dead."

A silence fell between the Sith Lords, a silence broken by two sounds of roaring that were at their doorstep. Plageuis and Sidious scampered to their feet and ran to the open balcony of Plageuis' apartment; a godly sight awaiting them.

Two mountainous dragons bloodied and beaten, growling at each other. A midnight black and snow white one. Perfect contradictions laid before the Sith's eyes. They watched in awe as the midnight black dragon limped one step, followed by an immediate lunge towards the snow white dragon's neck; biting it with deadly force. The snow white dragon screeched in agony and tried to wiggled and pry itself away from its attacker; as it tried so, the momentum and weight of the mountainous dragons crashed and shook the ground, and destroyed parts of the mile high buildings around them.

The snow white beast raised a clawed weapon and slashed it against the other's neck, the midnight beast growling in pain. Which was enough to release its deadly grip on its foe.

A strange golden energy began to swirl around the monstrous beasts, the wind quickly gushing to hurricane force and beyond. Debris and dirt and various objects of size were uprooted from their stationary places, all the while Sidious and his master observed the sight and used the Force to anchor themselves in their spot.

The golden energy soon formed into a sphere and engulfed the two dragons in a heavenly flash, brighter than any known star and nearly blinding the two Sith. With their vision soon returning, smoke and craters loomed over the horizon. Plageuis and Sidious said nothing as they observed the carnage that they witnessed. Far more powerful than either of them- where did it come from.

"Sidious," Plageuis called to his apprentice. Sidious heard his name but continued to stare into the city. "You should get some rest, and once we are secured in our victory, begin training on the Skywalker girl. Immediately."

"Yes, Lord Plageuis," Sidious answered hollowly, his incentive mind now drawing a blank as he repeated the sight they just watched.

Nothing any Sith or Jedi, possibly any living Force user in the last thousand or so years, had seen such a sight.

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

 **Tython; 22.5 BBY**

The downpour of heavy rain awoke the Je'daii Kage, stinging pain and misery of his wounds were his first reactions. Grunting at the severity of his wounds, from the corner of his eye he saw droplets of his blood leaking onto the soaked grass. Ralem's eyes blurred as faint images of a white dragon mentally roared in his head. His heartbeat quickened at the faint memories clouding his head, his anger and humility rising with a passing second.

A set of barefeet placed themselves in front of the distraught Je'daii, soft arms gently picking him up as the person tried to ease his pain. His eyes clearing to see a Human female with short obsidian hair and familiar eyes.

Her gentle lips pressed against his and Ralem immediately recognized it.

"Cortana?" Ralem asked softly, confused on her appearance. She looked... Human. That... wasn't right, it couldn't be. "What happened?"

The female nodded, her mournful eyes watching over her long-lost partner and lover. "A long time has past since you were... gone. I'll explain as much as I can once you're healed. You like hell."

"Feels worse," grimaced Ralem and he grunting as he felt more blood leaked down his body.

 ** **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-****

Ralem watched Cortana as she took care of him in the medical bay at one of the Je'daii Temples. His upper chest and arms were covered in crimson bandages, once clean before. His golden eyes holding confusion at the ruined state of Tython and the Je'daii Temples; he saw ruined buildings and cities that he saw only yesterday with his own eyes. But now, it was, somehow 25,000 years since.

"There were witnesses and reports of two monsters destroying parts of Coruscant roughly ten years ago. Figured it had to be you," Cortana said, keeping her back to him as she worked. "When I got there, you were gone."

"I remembered that part faintly," Ralem said, rubbing the side of his head. "A bit blurry." He paused and continued to watch Cortana for minute. "What happened to Lanoree and Trill, and Ky- my son?"

Cortana remained silent for a time, trying to figure the right words to explain all of what has happened since he was gone. "When you... disappeared, the Je'daii Order started to fall apart. Internal struggle and betrayal started to grow along the years until one day- everything became war. Two factions broke out- one side following the beliefs of Ashla, the other Bogan. Once the war was over, which became known as the Force Wars, the factions gave themselves the proper names of Jedi and Sith respectively."

"Jedi," repeated Ralem, his eyes narrowing at the mockery that sounded of Je'daii. "What happened then?"

"There, everything became the typical battle that recycled every or so thousand years- Jedi vs Sith, constant state of war across the galaxy," explained Cortana.

"Is there any regents of the Je'daii left?" inquired Ralem.

Cortana turned towards Ralem for the first step, her face solemn and depressed. "No, they died off. There was a small faction that tried to unite the Jedi and Sith under the Je'daii banner but they failed. You're the only one left. And the history of the Je'daii is all but forgotten. The Jedi Order currently resides at the temple on Coruscant."

Ralem stifled a groan as he stood up from the medical bed and softly grabbed Cortana by her cheeks, his thumb gently caressing them. An up-heave of emotion sparked between the two as they embraced into a soft kiss. Feelings of shame, guilt, and lust forged stronger as they continued to makeout, until they broke away.

"I've missed you," Cortana breathed heavily against Ralem's mouth, her voice laced with want and loneliness. "I've waited too long, all alone."

"I'm so so sorry," Ralem apologized, his golden eyes glossing over. "I don't know what else to do now. I failed you. Lanoree. Trill. My family and Father. All because of me."

The Je'daii Kage fell to his knees, placing his head onto her stomach and wrapped his arms around her legs; silently begging for forgiveness. He was destined for greatness, to save the galaxy. He had squandered that chance. Pathetic.

He refused to cry this time, shedding tears had gotten him nowhere in the past before, he wouldn't bother to doing something that was a waste.

Cortana's hand softly caressed Ralem's hair soothingly, smiling sadly at him. "The last 25,000 years since you were gone... Maybe all those things that you did in the past, was to set you up for now."

Ralem gave no response to her sentence, so she continued. "Makes sense if you think about it. In a rather weird way."

"I can't," Ralem finally said. "I just can't. I can't put myself through that anymore." He finally stood up and looked at Cortana closely, swallowing his throat to keep his nerves calm. "I'm kinda surprised you've lived this long."

Cortana's smile strained. "Actually I'm.. dying. I've pushed myself as far as I was allowed to, but now, I'm at my limit."

He almost laughed. Fortunately he didn't, but he was so close. The first person he met on his journey, now the last. How many funny fate could be.

"How long do you have?" asked Ralem calmly, caressing her cheeks with his finger.

"Do you really want to know?" Cortana nervously replied. Offering a crooked smile Ralem embraced her into a tight hug, his nose brushing against her soft hair.

"I suppose not. But I think I know how to make it special, at least I hope so," offered Ralem.

 ** **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-****

Leaping quickly up the frozen mountain side, Ralem tighten his hold on Cortana; who was being held bridal style. He finally made it to the top of the Tho Yor ship where he first met Cortana six years ago, or 25,006 years ago; if he wanted to be cute about it.

The view was breathtaking- the clouds reaching high above the sky were now their equals, the thin wisps of the clouds slowly crawling around the two. And if his timing was accurate...

"There you go, a bit cliche but a classic," Ralem jokingly teased. The rays of the distant rising sun continued to brighten until the red, violet, and orange lights bathed over their bodies. Cortana tightened her grip around Ralem's neck as she silently took in the view. Ralem stared out to the view down below, seeing more ruined and demolished cities and temples in the distance.

Cortana's grip weakened and it went limp soon after.

The Je'daii flinched and blinked away the tears that threatened to burn his eyes.

He was alone now. Or rather, he was always alone and he fooled himself.

With a wave of his fingers, a small Force blast exploded to his side and Ralem gently placed Cortana inside the makeshift grave. The Je'daii Kage pushed a large bank of snow on top her, pausing just at her neck and face. He looked one final time and leaned over and kissed her on the forehead; before burying his last link to his previous life.

 ** **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-****

 ** **A few days later...****

"Revan... Malgus... Nihilus... Eternal Throne... Valkorion... Rule of Two and Darth Bane... Yoda," droned Ralem tiredly. He rubbed the bags that formed under his eyes, not having slept since Cortana's passing. The Je'daii Kage learned nearly of the recorded data on the Jedi and Sith, broken fragments of his own Order. His own beliefs.

Light Side, Dark Side...

 _There is no emotion, there is_ _peace_

 _Peace is a lie, there is only_ _passion_

 _There is no ignorance, there is_ _knowledge_

 _Through passion, I gain_ _strength_

 _There is no passion, there is_ _serenity_

 _Through strength, I gain_ _power_

 _There is no chaos, there is_ _harmony_

 _Through power, I gain_ _victory_

 _There is no death, there is_ _the Force_

 _Through victory, my chains are broken_ _the Force_ _shall free me_

Ralem read both Jedi and Sith Codes side by side, from left to right. He realized halfway through their Codes, they started to waver in their ideals. But the first half went hand in hand.

He moved the Jedi and Sith Code holograms to the side and he pulled the Je'daii Code for comparison-

 _There is no ignorance; there is knowledge_

 _There is no fear, there is power_

 _I am the heart of the Force_

 _I am the revealing fire of light_

 _I am the mystery of darkness_

 _In balance with chaos and harmony_

 _Immortal in the Force_

"Immortal in the Force," mused Ralem half-humorlessly. He smirked at the apparent irony of the last phrase of the Je'daii Code. However the burning sensation in his eyes begged for a rest, and his body soon demanded the same. Stretching his limbs Ralem pried himself from his studies, linger doubt filling his mind.

Thoughts back to what Cortana said before she passed, about his destiny not being in the past. But in the present.

Funny things about destiny and fate, mused Ralem. They were always vague about the details- the means of the journey was never talk about. Just the destination.

Maybe Cortana was right. Perhaps his destiny laid in this time.

But would his purpose, his reason, be the same?

"Probably," said Ralem aloud to himself. He wondered if his Father knew what happened to him. Ralem glanced towards the ceiling, silently wondering if he should talk to him.

No, Ralem reasoned. Not that he didn't want to, he needed to do this on his own. Again. To prove his worth.

He would sleep on these thoughts later. Even if he was planning on going through with all of this again, he didn't have an army, weapons, alliances, and most importantly any followers. And given the growing tensions between the Republic and the Separatists, from what he read and researched, there might be some people on the Separatists that he could possibly persuade; but the problems still stemmed from the lack of resources.

But he did have the Star Forge... Rather he had the last known coordinates of the Star Forge, apparently the redeemed Jedi/Sith that called herself Revan was rumored to have found and battled the Star Forge in the Lehon System, which was in Rakatan territory. But since the Rakatans seemed to be extinct, or damn near it, perhaps Ralem could venture a look.

Once he returned to his bed chambers the sixteen year old Je'daii walked over to the broken golden armor floating in mid-air surrounded by dim-lights from the bottom up. The golden armor was heavily cracked, nearly broken. He would have to repair it soon, he had fond memories of that armor. It was like a second skin to him.

However he would repair it tomorrow when his mind was clear and his body well rested.

 ** **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-****

 ** **22.4 BBY- One month later...****

Ralem placed the final garments of his armor back on. The golden chest plate was properly fixed and shined, the shining reflection in the mirror nearly blinding him. His black cape with gold trim looked proper and regal as always- as the old expression went 'The clothes made the man.'

He was feeling like his old self again. That brought a smile to him, feeling a tiny bit better. Suddenly he felt a powerful surge in the Force, it must've came from the other side of the galaxy... In the Outer Rim territory.

He frowned deeply at this realization, what kind of person could have that kind of potential? Just as quickly it flared, it disappeared into the vastness of the cosmos.

Maybe that was his first step in his redemption.

Placing the black hood from his cape over his head, Ralem departed towards any surviving ship on Tython and hoped that the Force would guide him to whatever that anomaly was.

 ** **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-****

 ** **Lotho Minor****

Piles of trash as high as skyscrapers mocked the Je'daii as he walked through the sand storm. Pulling his hood closer to his head, Ralem continued his search to find this Force signature. He had been walking around for an hour and no sign or pulse of the Force anywhere.

Ralem frowned in frustration and he kicked several snake-like creatures away from him. When they kept drawing closer and closer, Ralem finally grabbed his golden lightsaber and its golden blade frightened the creatures, leaving the Je'daii to continued his search in peace.

A hut-like structure came into view and Ralem sensed another surge in the Force. He quickly ran inside the structure, only to find it abandoned, deteriorated from old age. Ralem's keen eyes noticed an odd placement on the middle of the floor, as if blocking something.

Gently moving the objects away Ralem discovered a makeshift trap. Its design looked to be of a ritual sacrifice for whatever was done there. Ralem jumped down the hole and landed in a small puddle of water, the splashes echoing the empty cave connections. He activated his lightsaber for light, only for a shadowed being to attack him. The Je'daii backflipped away from the creature and used a feign attack to scare it.

Yelling in anger the creature ran deeper into the cave, its metallic spider-legs littering tiny amounts of metal in its wake. Ralem narrowed his eyes cautiously but he followed the creature. It looked... sentient.

Soon the Je'daii Kage heard the crackles of a fire as he drew closer. Squatting near the corner, Ralem peaked his head over to see the creature- a red-skinned male with black tribal markings and overgrown horns muttering insanely to himself; quick mumbles, like a chant.

"No! NO!" yelled the man desperately, clutching his head as if in pain. To ignore the voices that taunted him. Walking closer to the man, Ralem observed the dire state of the being- the lower half of his body was held together in the shape of a spider, which was barely managing to hold together, small pieces of it falling off. Seeing the stranger getting closer to him, the man yelled in anger and flare his arms in an attempt to scare him off.

"Calm down," Ralem stated, placing his lightsaber back onto his belt. "So you're the one I sensed. You are strong in the Force, how long have you been wasting away out here?"

To the surprise of the Je'daii, the red-skinned man answered. "Years and years and years. The Force shall break my chains... The chains are the easy part, it's what goes on in here."

Ralem watched the manifestation of fear flush over the broken. The Je'daii feel pity for him. The Force shall break my chains, he is... was Sith.

The Je'daii racked his brain around the possible use of him. He could prove himself worthy, and the Je'daii knew what the Sith's price would be to sway his allegiance to him.

"Who cut off your legs?" asked Ralem bluntly, knowing that would trigger the Sith.

"SCUM! He took them from me!" roared the broken man, lashing violently in the open air. "Jedi! Jedi!"

"You remember," said Ralem. "Do you remember who you are? Where you came from?"

The man immediately hunched over in fear, coddling himself from the voices. "Always remember I am FEAR, always remember I am PAIN, always remember I am FLITH, always remember I am nothing."

The Je'daii's pity towards the man started to grow at the internal despair he was suffering in- much like himself in a lot ways. Perhaps too much like himself.

"Your legs," commented Ralem, his eyes observing the rusted state of them. "I can give you your legs back. You only have to do two things for me- your name and your allegiance."

The man glared at the calm state of this stranger, and suddenly he launched himself towards the Je'daii. But before the broken man could even past the fire pit, he was pinned strongly onto the cave wall; several cracks forming from the immense power of this stranger in cladded gold and black armor.

The Je'daii was ready to reprimand when the man spoke calmly, somehow regaining sentience instead of the animal he became. "Revenge, I must have revenge."

"You will not," Ralem countered, his Force grip on the man remaining strong and unbroken. "It seems you've returned to a somewhat civilized manner, so I'll repeat myself: you will get your legs back if, and only if, you follow my two requests. Your name."

"Maul, Darth Maul," the man spoke angrily. Ralem smirked darkly at the man calling himself Maul.

"Seems the 'Darth' title will no longer be required, considering you're current state," Ralem noted with his eyes towards Maul's robotic appendages. "And as for the second request?"

Maul narrowed his eyes but said nothing. Ralem waited patiently. "You're not a Jedi."

Ralem released his grip on Maul. "You think I'm Sith then?"

Maul cautiously etched his way closer to the stranger; young, vastly powerful. Almost as strong as his master... Former master.

"No," Maul simply said, his yellow eyes studying the boy. "Who are you?"

Ralem softly snorted and took a seat near the fire. "That, my dear, is another story in and of itself. To half answer you're question: my name is Ralem Solstice. I come from an Order that is long dead, broken into two factions I believe your familiar with."

Maul remained silent, digesting this new information. He crawled closer to the fire but kept a distance from Ralem. "This Order... What was the name?"

"Je'daii," Ralem answered. "Sounds similar to Jedi doesn't it?"

"Yes," muttered Maul, eyeing the boy as he looked for any sign of lying. "I have never heard of this "Je'daii" you speak of, but you say the Jedi and Sith are the broken fragments of your Order."

"At least that's what the data, recordings and Holocrons keep telling me that's what 's been going for the last twenty-five thousand years," mumbled Ralem, staring deeply into the fire. "Chaos and war, not what I wanted. A unity through the Force, that was my dream."

Maul narrowed his eyes at the phrase 'twenty-five thousand years'. He must've been lying, he was just extremely good at it. None of this made any sense; the Jedi and Sith stemming from one Order that predated both of them...

He paused at the implication that would mean...

"Are there other Je'daii like you?" questioned Maul.

"Like me? No. Other surviving Je'daii? Also no," Ralem commented hollowly. He shifted his gaze from the fire to the hellish state of the Zabrak. "I know you are, or were, Sith. And look where you are now, tossed in the literal trash pile. I can sense your potential, your strength. Such waste. Swear yourself to me and I can promise you what your want; not revenge, but purpose. If not, I can leave you here to rot. I gain nothing, but I lose nothing. Your choice."

Ralem stood from his seat and proceeded to walk towards the entrance of the den, hopefully the makeshift hole he entered was not too far away.

"Wait!" called out Maul. Ralem halted mid-stride. The Je'daii heard the metallic clanking growing louder until he saw the Zabrak from the corner of his eye. "Fine, you have a deal."

 ** **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-****

 ** **Hours later... Tython****

Laying on his back on top of a stone table, Maul awaited whatever procedure the Je'daii was going to concoct. If the boy could restore his legs as promised... He had no idea what he would do.

Ralem finished drawing the alchemy circle and lowered the stone table that held Maul gently back on to it with the Force. The Je'daii Kage handed Maul a tiny steel bar. "Put it in your mouth. Trust me, you'll need it."

Maul inspected the steel bar in his hand and complied with the boy's command, placing it between his teeth. Ralem placed himself behind the head of the Zabrak and proceeded with the ritual.

The Je'daii spun his right index above Maul's head in a circle, seconds passing when a greenish portal appeared. Reaching carefully within the former Sith's mind, Ralem pulled black wisps of smoke out; cleansing Maul's mind. Not of brainwashing, that would break the code of the Je'daii.

Maul's muffled yelled grew louder and his body violently twitched, secretly grateful for the steel bar. But even at the dismal sight of the Zabrak, Ralem continued. Stage one was near completion.

The green portal soon expanded and enveloped the Zabrak, lifting him a foot or two above the table. Yelling in agony, Maul's metallic lower half disappeared; replaced with legs of blood, muscle and bone. Gyrating madly Maul gave a powerful yell when he dropped onto the table.

Panting harshly for a while, Maul soon propped himself onto his elbows and looked towards the lower half where his...

Legs...

His legs...

Looking on in disbelief Maul dared to dream and tried to move his feet- his feet flexing. He shifted into a sitting position, his feet dangling above the ground when he slowly placed them onto the cool wet grass.

He could feel it.

Maul gave a gasp of relief. The first time besides pain and misery, and torment; he felt gratitude and relief. Happiness even.

Ralem smiled at the sight of the former Sith. He remembered the dew days where he would go from planet to planet and help the locals. Though they were few and rare in-between given the war against the Infinite Empire. He felt good.

"You're free to go," Ralem said.

Maul turned towards the Je'daii, standing in the process and nearly stumbled before catching himself. "What about the deal?"

"Just a little test," explained Ralem. "That's the belief of the Je'daii- choice. Can't exactly make a choice if it's forced upon you. One of many teachings I can show you, but it's up to you. You can go after the Jedi that cut you in half and you can go after your master, or you can stay with me and help me finish what I started twenty-five thousand years ago. In return I will finish your training and make you more powerful than your master ever dared to dream. But I need your help, your master must have told you something that he was planning. Part of the Grand Plan that Darth Bane created a thousand years ago. And I'm guessing it involves the Republic and the Separatists."

"The Clone Wars," muttered Maul aloud. Enough for Ralem to catch it.

"Clone Wars?" Ralem repeated.

"My master devised a plan that would set up the entire galaxy for the largest war in history. And over the course of the war, my master would be elected Supreme Chancellor and as the war progressed he would manipulate both sides that would further increase his power until he became the Senate itself," Maul explained in detail.

Ralem took the information in stride. "I haven't heard of any war yet since I've been here. Then again I've been here a few days, but I'm guessing this Clone War is drawing near. We will have to act fast."

"You can't possibly build an entire Empire with the amount of time we have. It would take years, decades at most," countered Maul.

Ralem smirked at the Zabrak. "Seems you've accepted my offer. But fortunately I know of a device that can give us unlimited weapons, supplies, ships, anything we desire to build what we need. And it's not the first time I've build a government from scratch- I did create the Republic and Je'daii Order after all."

The Zabrak stood in silence and in awe at the bold declaration of the teen. At his point he knew the boy wasn't lying.

"Before we head over to coordinates of where the Star Forge is," Ralem stated, stopping mid-sentence to draw his gold lightsaber hilt from his belt. He held it out towards Maul. "Use the Force to pull this. I want to see what state you're in first before I finish your training."

Maul observed the lightsaber in Ralem's- regal, gold, engraved design on the hilt. Clear signs of a ruler and leader. Looking towards his hand hesitantly, Maul called to his power through the Force, using his anger to-

Ralem closed his hand over the lightsaber tightly, frowning in distaste. "No, do not use your again. In order for me create you, I'll have to destroy what your master has made you. Again."

Maul eyed the Je'daii before looking towards the golden lightsaber. Not use his anger. Every part of the Sith that swelled within him and roared at him to return to the monster he was.

Like trash.

For the first time in his life, Maul calmed himself. Just enough to wiggle the lightsaber in Ralem's grasp.

"You're a fast learner, there may be some hope for you," complimented Ralem, easing his grip on his lightsaber as it flew out of his hand and into Maul's, and activating the golden blade. "My apprentice."

 ** **A**** **/N:** **Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!**

 **And so Ralem learns about the many events that plagued the galaxy during his absence, he buried the last of his past with Cortana and now he was Maul as his apprentice. Now he is ready to build the Empire that he was destined to have.**

 **And he also resurrected Maul's legs back too, rather sweet of Ralem right? XD**

 **If you have any plot elements or ideas to share, don't hesitate to leave it in the comment/review section or PM me.**

 **Ralem's power level:**

 **Power Scaling-**

 **Solar System to Solar System+ level:**

 **Naga Sadow** **(** _with Sith Corsaid and Sith relics through Dark Side Magic_ **)**

 **World Razor** **(** _Destroyed 100 stars and 1,000 planets as according to the Rakata ruins and the Failsafe; the full power of the Infinite Empire was needed to defeat it_ **)**

 **Star to Star+ level:**

Father

Abeloth

 **Planet to Planet+ level:**

Grand Master Luke Skywalker

Ralem Kyo Solstice ( _potentially higher to Star level_ )

Son ( _Large Planet_ )

Daughter ( _Large Planet_ )

Darth Sidious ( _Small Planet_ )

Yoda ( _Small Planet; contained Sidious' lighting for a few seconds_ )

Valkorion ( _Small Planet; after the ritual on Ziost_ )

Darth Nihilus ( _Potentially if he absorbs enough Force power from said planet, but constant hunger staves off from full use of his power_ )

 **Moon to Moon+ level:**

Sith Emperor

 **Multi-Continent to Multi-Continent+ level:**

 **Galen Marek/Starkiller (** ** _Comparable to Darth Vader; previously Continent level_** **)**

 **Darth Vader (** _His training as a Sith Lord has noticeably increased his power from his previous peak as Anakin Skywalker; previously Co_ _ntinent_ _level_ )

 **Revan (** ** _At his best, he nearly matched the Sith Emperor_** **)**

 **Continent to Continent+ level:**

Mace Windu ( _potentially Small Planet use the continued use of Vaapad against his fight with Sidious in ROTS_ )

Darth Bane

Darth Nihilus ( _Razed the surface of Katarr and killed all life on the planet sans Visas Marr_ )

Darth Malak

Darth Plageuis

Count Dooku ( _One of the most powerful Jedi the Order had ever produced, even before his powers became enhanced by becoming a Sith Lord; previously Island+ level_ )

Darth Maul ( _appears to be comparable to, if not slightly weaker than, Darth Tyranus per Son of Dathomir; previously Island level_ )

Anakin Skywalker ( _Surpassed Darth Tyranus at his peak in Revenge of the Sith; previously Island level_ )

Obi-Wan Kenobi ( _Telekinetically stalemated a Darth Vader that, while emotionally compromised, was still well above his Padawan self in raw power; previously Island level_ )

Ki-Adi Mundi ( _He's a member of the Jedi Council, so he should be comparable to Obi-Wan Kenobi; previously Island level_ )

Meetra Surik ( _Managed to defeat Darth Traya_ )

Shaak Ti ( _Same as Ki-Adi Mundi_ )

Aayla Secura ( _Same as Ki-Adi Mundi_ )

Plo Koon ( _Same as Ki-Adi Mundi_ )

Arcann

Thexan

 **Country to Country+ level:**

Ajunta Pall

Satele Shan ( _Is a peer of Darth Malgus_ )

Darth Malgus

Meetra Surik ( _Killed the Greater Storm Beast on Malachor V; Small Country level_ )

Darth Sion

 **Island to Island+ level:**

Darth Nihilus ( _Pulled the Ravager out of Malachor V's orbit and continues to keep it from falling apart through pure force of will; far higher once fed_ )

 **City Block to City Block+ level:**

Ahsoka Tano

Barriss Offee


	11. Dawn of an Empire

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything pertaining to the Star Wars franchise; all rights** **are acquired to Disney. The only things I own are my OC's Ralem Solstice.**

 **"Speaking"**

 **'Thoughts'**

 **'** ** _Telepathic_** **'**

 **Ralem's Collective:**

Ahsoka Tano

Asajj Ventress

Padme Amidala

Riyo Chuchi

Sabren Wren

Satele Shan

Shae Vizla

Adi Gallia

Shaak Ti

Aayla Secura

Luminara Unduli

Barriss Offee

Tiplee

Tiplar

Bo-Katan Kryze

Duchess Satine

Miraj Scintel

Darth Talon

Lanoree Brock

Steele Gerrea

Marasiah Fel

The Daughter

Mina Bonteri

Hera

Jarael

Deliah Blue

Jaina Solo

Mara Jade

Savan

Vaylin

Senya Tirall

Queen Julia

Sola Naberrie

Breha Organa

Fem Revan

Meetra Surik

Trill

Sylvar

Celeste Mourne

Githany

Keelyvine Reus

Nadia Grell

Akaavi Spar

Jaesa Willsaam

Ashara Zavros

Kaliyo Djannis

Raina Temple

Darth Zannah

Visas Marr

Brianna

Raskta Lsu

Elke Vetter

Azlyn Rae

Sigel Dare

Leia Organa

Seventh Sister

Rey

Captain Phasma

Rook Kast

Siri Tachi

Krovos

Mirax Terrick

Syal Antilles

Callista Ming

Kerra Holt

Candra Tymon

Rig Nema

Lolo Purs

Mon Mothma

Ketsu Onyo

Atris

Sev'rance Tann

Komari Vosa

 **Review Responses:**

 **Naroku (Chapter 10):** Thank you, glad you appreciate it. Hm, in regards to when Ralem comes into contact with the Jedi... I'm not sure if you're referring to in terms of chapters, if so, that's a secret lol; considering that Ralem has to rebuild what the Jedi and Sith had destroyed. In terms of the timeline, about four months before the Battle of Genosis.

 **Zer0the0mega108 (Chapter 10):** Thanks man. I wonder why you can't wait for Padme... Hm, questions and questions lol.

 **Xdestroyer223 (Chapter 10):** Much appreciated, glad you enjoy the story so far.

 **xXCoopyXx (Chapter 10):** As I stated in the previous chapter, I hope you enjoy the Darth Idoneus story if you've seen it.

 **JOKR4 (Chapter 10):** Thank you, hope you continue to support this story.

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

 **Rakata Prime**

The former Sith known as Maul stared at his newly discovered legs, rubbing his hands against them. He flexed his legs and felt the muscle pulse under his control. He still couldn't believe, never before had he seen power like this. To reconstruct entire limbs back to the flesh, especially with the Force. Maul knew of his master's masters' ability to manipulate the midi-chlorians to postpone death, and possibly create life.

He knew better- Maul had seen the results of Plageuis' experiments in the Skywalker girl. Annika Skywalker if he remembered. A flicker of anger coursed through him as he realized that he was going to be cast aside for the girl; a being created from the Force itself.

That thought brought his gaze over to the young Je'daii who stared out to the stars and the growing planet they were flying towards. Who was he? What was he? Maul knew nothing of what he was getting himself into; with the Je'daii and the upcoming war against his former master. He observed the Je'daii's solemn frown, having his own thoughts, perhaps doubts of some kind.

"Since you're going to be my apprentice, you should learn as much as you can about me," Ralem spoke, his gaze towards the passing clouds as the ship descended quickly into the atmosphere of the planet. Maul remained quiet as he listened closely. Ralem released a sigh of hesitation before continuing. "As I said before we left, I built both the Republic and the Je'daii Order. The Republic was designed as a temporary alliance to combat a galactic threat known as the Infinite Empire. It's rulers were the Rakatans, beings who were the first to tap into the Dark Side of the Force. I suppose you could call them 'Ancient Sith', anyway my people and the Republic waged war against them for three years; resulting in the advanced technology you have now. It seems after we experimented with the technology from the Rakatans, almost nothing has changed since then."

Ralem patted his lightsaber absentmindly. "This weapon was a product of such experimentation. As you have seen there is no activation button, instead the user has to channel the Force to activate it. The original design from the Rakatans was called a Forcesaber, rather ingenious." The Je'daii stood from the pilot seat of the ship once it landed, Maul following shortly.

The Je'daii Kage stepped foot upon his enemies homeworld, it was surprisingly beautiful; lush tropical islands, crystal oceans washing upon the white sands. In the close distance Ralem saw a crashed spacecraft in the ocean, it stood several stories above the water line. Also buried underneath the palmtrees laid the wreckage of an Old Republic _Hammerhead_ -class capital ship.

He felt the warm tropical sun beam down on him, stretching his senses into the Force Ralem was surprised to feel a lacking presence of the Dark Side. With the Rakatans all but extinct, that was most likely the answer.

"It's beautiful," Ralem commented. The former Sith watched the Je'daii then turned his gaze beyond him.

"There seems to be a temple of some kind over there. We should go check it out, perhaps there's information regarding the Star Forge," Maul suggested, waiting for Ralem.

The Je'daii Kage continued to stare at the beautiful scenery before starting down the path to the temple. "Must be the Temple of the Ancients, or so I've read. Come, let's go."

Soon the two stood before the twenty meter tall temple, the temple itself stood on the edge of the cliffside overlooking the ocean. Ralem couldn't believe the sight of it- considering the nature of the Rakatans and the vile things they've done during the war, they've lived on a tropical paradise. The hypocrisy of it was astounding, almost as much as-

Ralem chuckled to himself as the irony earning a casting glance from Maul, which Ralem felt. "If you knew the Rakatans as I did, you'd be laughing as well."

"Given I'm a former Sith, I have a decent idea on such things," Maul stated. "What do you reckon is inside?"

"Honestly, I don't have any idea. Everything that I worked and believed has changed, so I can only assume. If I knew the Rakatans as I did, the temple itself might be shielded by some kind of ritual or initiation. Or rigged to explode," figured Ralem aloud. He stretched his hand towards the open pathway that lead to the entrance, only to pull his hand back from the blue force shield that suddenly appeared. Then vanished. "So it's the hard way."

Ralem rolled his shoulders and took a deep breath, hopefully he could break the shield without destroying the temple or sinking the cliff into the ocean; taking both him and Maul along with it.

The former Sith took a step back and folded his arms, waiting for another miracle from the boy. Stretching his hands outward Ralem activated the protective shield, keeping his hands steady he gathered a surge of his Force power, gold energy outwardly visible from his torso and traveling to his hands, a small earthquake shaking the ground beneath their feet.

Maul grounded himself to keep his balance, watching as the shield protecting the temple shattered and disappeared. Giving an annoyed sigh Ralem marched towards the entrance to the temple awaiting its contents and secrets for himself.

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

"Damn, the Star Forge has been severely damaged," Ralem frowned the latest news. Not only was the Star Forge damaged, crucial parts for it was missing. Parts that would make the transition run smoothly for the space station to properly work. Another sigh of annoyance erupted from the frustrated Je'daii, he rubbed his eyes. "The records on Tython might be able to pinpoint the whereabouts of the missing parts, luckily it's not many."

"Once you get your Star Forge up and running and build the army required to take both the Republic and Separatists, what exactly is your next step?" asked Maul.

"Finishing your training being the first," answered Ralem, typing on the computer dashboard, learning as much information as possible. "Followed by winning."

Ralem paused as a thought crossed his mind. He quickly typed on the dashboard and pulled up a map of the galaxy. "I do have some missions I need you to complete. Resonance mostly, you're going to be my eyes for a while. Within the Republic and the Separatists, I need more information on who we're about to engage. Find some potential allies on both sides."

"You're sending me on diplomatic missions?" clarified Maul.

"Can't really be a diplomat if there's no Empire, right?" Ralem responded. "Before heading to Tython, we'll be heading to the region of the Eternal Empire."

Upon seeing Maul's confusion, a holographic image of an elderly man wearing white armor. "Valkorion, Immortal Master and Protector of Zakuul. He wielded the power of the Eternal Fleet, an ancient and seemingly unstoppable armada operated by apparently sentient droids."

Maul inspected the numerous images and recordings detailing the Eternal Fleet's impressive combat record. "Taken from the recordings on Tython I imagine? Still, an "unstoppable" armada no longer around doesn't invoke much confidence."

"Plus the files detailing the destruction of Zakuul and the Throne is either lost or destroyed, so whatever weakness there are we'll have to find for ourselves," Ralem observed. "Either way, that's our key."

"The Eternal Empire?" inquired Maul, his eyes watching the recordings. "The firepower presented by the Eternal Fleet is without question. It's worth a look."

"I agree," Ralem stood from his seat and walked back towards where the ship waited for them. "We can use this as a headquarters for a base of operations. Tython being the capital of our empire once it's completed."

 ** **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-****

 ** **Zakuul; Eternal Throne room****

Ralem picked up a broken Knight of Zakuul helmet, it was similar in design Ralem's own Knights of Tython design except this armor was gold in color. Holding the helmet in his hand the Je'daii inspected the throne room, whatever battle took place here certainly took its toll. Chipped, broken, burned, all types of wanton destruction spread across here. The Throne itself remained unscathed.

Maul picked up the pike lightsaber from a skeletal hand, igniting its blue plasma. His old master trained him in various combat styles and weapons, the pike one of them. He watched his new master walk up the flight of stairs and inspect the Eternal Throne. Ralem slowly sat upon the throne, making himself comfortable. He took in the view from his high pedestal, his right hand placing on top of the panel that controlled the Eternal Fleet. He rubbed his fingers against it, then rubbing the grimy dust from his gloved fingers.

" _I have always loved the stars,_ " a calm deep voice spoke to Ralem. Maul heard it too, his search for the voice evident. The elder man that looked of the Immortal Emperor stood next to Ralem.

"You can star gaze later. What I want now is your Fleet," Ralem announced, turning his head towards the apparition. "Your Empire."

" _Patience. You have earned my respect Solstice. I followed you here hoping we might converse undisturbed,_ " Valkorion said.

"You've changed, from Vitiate to your current persona. I'm impressed, forging all this from a lifespan of a few thousand years. At great expense of life from others, but impressive all the same," Ralem stated. He stood from the throne and faced Valkorion.

" _You focus too much on past. All things evolve,_ " Ralem followed Valkorion down the flight of stairs, and pass Maul who followed silently.

"Given that my past was my present not too long ago, that can't be helped," Ralem retorted.

" _Evidently that is true, but your legacy is dead. Forgotten. The old ways held you back. It is time you are unleashed_ ," Ralem frowned at the Emperor. Something was off.

"Do not presume to know me. My power is beyond your imagination," Ralem snapped suddenly. "Besides you seem too willing to help me, even when you are not Je'daii."

" _Nor am I Jedi or Sith. Just like you, I am beyond mere titles of those ancient dogmas. I am the closest to an ally you have at the moment, besides your apprentice. The closest person to understanding you and your kind represented. I consider you my equal, a title that neither of us had the pleasure of uttering in our lives. A small price to pay for my power,_ " explained Valkorion. He turned his back to the Je'daii as he looked down upon the planet of Zakuul. " _Our failed Empire. We were both superior to the murderous fools in charge in our respective times._ "

"We know what was required," Ralem agreed. "I take it I have your support?"

" _The piece of the Star Forge you are looking for lies beneath the Sun Generator down below,_ " answered Valkorion. " _And you can have the access codes to the Eternal Fleet, once you enter it into the Star Forge mainframe._ "

"I don't know what you gain from this, perhaps you think you can take over my body once I have finished conquering the galaxy, whatever reason you think it won't happen. This will be the last conversation we will have," Ralem clarified.

Valkorion laughed as his ghostly image disappeared from his sight.

"We gotten what we came for, let us finish then leave this place," Maul stated. Ralem nodded in agreement and proceeded to leave the archaic legacy of the Eternal Throne behind.

 ** **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-****

 ** **Rakata Prime; Two weeks later...****

Ralem and Maul used the Force to lift the Internal Engine back in its proper place inside the Star Forge. The final piece was found and completed. The Je'daii Kage waltzed over to the control panel of the Forge and began issuing commands into the mainframe. A deep roar of the engine signified its usefulness, the Star Forge slowly kicking off the ground and water in its grave and floated higher into the sky until it reached the cosmos.

"She's working just as I remember, now we have to place her next to the nearest star then our supplies for our Empire can commence," Ralem said.

"I'm impressed, I didn't think you could pull it off," Maul proclaimed.

"You and the rest of the galaxy during my time," Ralem had explained in much detail as he could about his past during their travels, the Je'daii offered pieces of advice and guidelines to Maul but never fully training him; he would need to wait until this moment.

"How long until the Eternal Fleet is rebuilt?" Ralem typed the codes for the Eternal Fleet into the mainframe before answering.

"Given the sheer number that the Eternal Empire held... Maybe three months at best? I also managed to overwrite some main programming, such as the usage of the Dark Side in order for it to operate. We can use the Force in a natural state for our own purposes. Now we still have to find potential recruits for the Knights and for our cause."

Maul folded his arms and nodded. "Yes. But given the three month span we have, it doesn't leave us with much time to gather potential allies or recruits, unless you want to use Mind-Trick to speed up the process."

Ralem waved the suggestion away with his hand. "No, I won't. If we are to succeed here we must win not only by might, but also by the mind. Psychologically break our enemies down by proving both of their beliefs and systems wrong; make them see their failures. The Republic will be easier to point out their flaws, part of our thanks towards the Separatists. With the Jedi and Sith, that's another story entirely. They'll fight tooth and nail for their causes, which might incidentally prove our points valid- Ancient blind dogmas."

Maul nodded. "Now I can assume preparations for my training?"

"Yes, you will be trialed by what we titled the 'Great Journey'. A trip that you will take alone to the nine Je'daii Temples on Tython. Not every Journeyer, or a Padawan, will complete their Journey. Some have fallen victim to Tyhon's many dangerous landscapes or creatures. Some may even lose their way in the Force and leave Tython far behind, scattering out to the system, lost in a more fundamental way. But as Je'daii we must accept this, because this is not an existence of absolutes. Life is a challenge, and facing that challenge is what makes the good great. The strong powerful. Are you ready for that journey?"

"Yes, my Master."

 ** **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-****

 ** **Tython; One week later...****

Maul slashed at the Tythonian raptors, the scaled beasts hissing and roaring at him. Twirling the metal sword in his hand, Maul snarled at the beasts, taunting them to forfeit their lives foolishly. Another charge from the Tythonian raptor was its last, the piercing metal struck through its neck and blood dripping from its edge. Pulling the sword out of the raptors neck Maul glared at retreating raptors, scurrying away into the safety of the jungle.

He sheathed the sword back onto his belt and proceeded to his next destination; the Temple of Force Skills, Qigong Kesh. The grass beneath Maul's boots soon turned to humid sand. The noise of the jungle behind silenced immediately upon entering the desert, he couldn't even feel his own heartbeat. Seven temples he had passed; trials of Balance, Science, Arts, Healing, Knowledge, the Je'daii Academy, and Martial Arts.

He would pass this one as well. His yellow eyes caught sight of the Tho Yor of this sector, he was getting closer. Using Force Speed he ran across the desert, his boots still making no noise, and using his momentum leapt high onto the top of Tho Yor. Where he caught sight of his master waiting for him in a meditation pose.

Golden eyes opened to the sight of Maul. "Welcome. You're late." Ralem gestured for Maul to sit across from him. "Meditate, cleanse yourself. Silence, a key factor to find balance. A major weakness is also dependent on its key for balance. The student's here would harness their mental endurance and strength in the relative silence in the desert, focusing on the Force and learning to shield themselves from it. The desert is a key example of how weak a mind can be, tricking them with mirages of what they wish or want. These illusions are lies and you must break those illusions, there are no lies in the Force. Only in your mind. The simplest but hardest of trials, it will reveal what your true nature hides. Overcome that, and your journey is finished."

Maul nodded and stood, preparing himself for what would lay for him. Closing his eyes he backflipped from the Tho Yor, landing silently from the several story high fall. Reopening them, he saw absence. Nothing, not of blindness. No changes awaited him. He took a few steps, circling around himself.

His back suddenly felt fire upon it, Maul yelling from the pain. Smoke arose from his body and as the Zabrak lashed out- nothing. No one attacked him. No sign of anyone.

Sidious...

His trial would deal with Sidious. Fear for the most powerful being...

Second most powerful. His new master was stronger, he had felt it. His power, his potential not yet tapped. Godly, almost.

Another slew of pain shot up the Zabrak's back, from the opposite side. A dark hooded figure stared down at Maul, his shining yellow eyes mocking the Zabrak. He knew that glare. He stood his ground however, feeling bravery against the man who tormented him since-

Maul was flung against the hot sand, dragged by the Sidious' Force Push. The Zabrak threw himself back onto his feet, attempting to block his former master's might. He slowed down a little. A little. A little more.

Maul to a complete stop soon after, grunting from the titanic of power wielded by Sidious. Bits of fear returned to Maul, memories flashing of his suffrage and abuse under the tyrannical Sith's eye. Being ripped away from his mother into the arms of the devil. Maul's boots slid backwards an inch.

He was losing focus-

Maul to his knees suddenly, panting severely at his own exhaustion. He glanced upwards to see where Sidious once stood, seeing air in his place.

"There is no ignorance; there is knowledge- I know that this is not real, but a trick," Maul said to himself. An apparition of Sidious appeared from the winds of the sand. "There is no fear; there is power- I will have the power to conquer my fears." A snarl appeared from the mouth of Sidious. "I am the heart of the Force- my will is my own, but my soul is for a greater cause." A crimson lightsaber appeared in Sidious' hand, poised to silence the Zabrak. "I am the revealing fire of light- the truth of the Force is beyond those of the Jedi and Sith, a truth that burns through the lies." The Sith Lord charged towards Maul, a demonic yell erupting from his lips. "I am the mystery of darkness- the truth is ever elusive, parts of it are what we can hope to achieve. But those parts connect to another, building upon the previous to the haven of truth."

Maul blocked the savagery that the Sith dealt him, his strength powerful. Maul's determination just as strong. "In balance of chaos and harmony- life is above the morality of man, a cycle of progress never ending." Sidious' strikes quickly became grew more powerful and swift, Maul starting to falter slowly. "Immortal in the Force..."

Sidious' final strike proved too much for Maul, knocking him onto his back several feet away. Maul panted and tiredly got to his feet, his determination to finish this unwavering. He tightened his grip on the metal sword... "My death will not be at your hands!"

Maul leapt and with his sword drawn over his head, he gave a mighty yell of the warrior he was and slashed down upon Sidious' head. A white light blinded Maul, revealing Ralem with his golden lightsaber drawn where Maul had attacked.

Ralem looked at the Zabrak, he had come a long way since he first met him- the broken demon from the cave to the Je'daii he was destined to be.

"Kneel," ordered Ralem, his voice strong with pride at his apprentice. Maul nodded and knelt in front of the Je'daii Kage, keeping his face down. "A broken monster is what I found you as. Pathetic and weak. Now, you have become the finest of the Je'daii that I have seen. I am proud to call you a brother and Je'daii." Ralem hovered his golden lightsaber over the shoulders of Maul, an initiation of the next rank of the Je'daii Order. "Rise, Ranger of the Je'daii Order."

The Zabrak Je'daii stood, a feeling of completion and pride soothed him. He reflected his time as Sith, now burying those long dead memories. Forever. "Thank you, my master."

"I am surprised to see you overcome your demons so quickly," Ralem noted. "Even as you progressed faster than any I have seen in my day, your encounter with Sidious remains to be tested. Your true allegiance always to be tested, a Je'daii knows no other path to prove himself."

 ** **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-****

 ** **One week later (22.3 BBY)...****

The unexpecting Jedi greeted their hooded own as the disguised Je'daii ventured freely inside the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. The recently appointed Je'daii Ranger remembered when he was but a child that Sidious also took him to the Jedi Temple, pointing out the various Jedi presented and mocked them for their lack of foresight. He was back here again, essentially doing the same as before but with purpose this time.

"Recognize any of the Jedi the last time your former master brought you here?" asked Ralem.

The Zabrak Je'daii shook his head. "Some perhaps but it has been many years since then."

Ralem lamented of old memories as they walked amongst the cavernous hallways of his old temple- young Je'daii training amongst these halls, debates and philosophical conversations were discussed, practices of the arts were performed sometimes in here, as well in the garden pastures outside. He felt insulted that he had to walk in secret of the very temple he had built, but all would come to a head in just time. He would not fail a second time.

"I forgot to ask, who was the Jedi responsible for cutting off your legs?" asked Ralem suddenly. He wanted to test Maul's resolve about his feelings towards the man.

"Kenobi, Obi-Wan Kenobi," Maul answered. The Je'daii Kage felt an upsurge of anger from the Zabrak, not nearly as much as before. A part of him was cautious of Maul, if he would risk their exposure for revenge. If given the chance. "I won't waste my time chasing after him, not now anyway."

"Good," Ralem said. He learned much during his trials. "We should split and cover more ground, I trust that you know who to search for."

"Yes master," Maul said. He watched his master suddenly vanish from his sights, using the technique he called Fold-Space. Pulling the hood of his robe closer to his head the Zabrak Je'daii ventured up the stairs and began his investigations for recruits.

 ** **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-****

Ralem reappeared in the Jedi Council Chamber and observed the polished fern-pattered floor, its bright shine glossing in the sun. He walked to the large landscape window that was in front of him, observing the skylines of Coruscant. It was still as beautiful when he last saw it. He folded his arms underneath the Jedi robes he confiscated for their mission.

Coruscant would be first to see the might of his empire, the Je'daii mused amusingly. It all started on the ecumenopolis planet, and so it would again. He noted the irony of his thoughts, much like the Rakatans of his time; attacking Coruscant as well. Now after many years wiser and more world-weary, he started to understand on some level of the Infinite Empire's thinking. However he would go about things differently than they did, his targets would be the Senate building and the Jedi Temple.

No other.

A powerful presence in the Force focused the Je'daii's attention to the doorway, it was getting closer.

"Yoda," Ralem murmured. Not wanting his plans to be foiled by the Grandmaster, Ralem teleported away from the chambers.

Master Yoda wobbled into the room, his weathered brow furrowing together. The Force was telling him something, but it was clouded. Whatever he felt, it was surely powerful...

Ralem reappeared in the open garden of the Jedi Temple, the sun shining down upon the numerous Padawans and Knights. Watching the Jedi train and meditate in the open area, Ralem's golden eyes caught the sight of a young Tortuga, around thirteen or fourteen years old, sitting in a meditative position across what he presumed to be her master. Her master was a Human male in his early thirties, his brown hair ending at the base of his neck and his well-trimmed beard.

Catching sight of the Tortuga, the Je'daii felt her potential in the Force. She could prove a useful ally; she was young, lacked knowledge of what true power meant. And... she was cute. The older teen Je'daii stared at her, his heart paced quickly at the sudden thought. He would ignore these thoughts, he had to. Couldn't bear those feelings...

Ralem had unfortunately stared too long, now realizing the Tortuga's stare at him.

"What can I help you with something?" asked the Tortuga. Her sudden question brought her master from his meditation, turning from his position over his shoulders to view the young man watching them.

"Sorry, I was-" Ralem shook his head and cleared his thoughts. "It's that, your master... He looks familiar." Hopefully they would buy it.

The older Jedi smiled softly. "It's alright. I'm Obi-Wan Kenobi." A flash of recognition crossed the young man's eyes.

"You're the one who defeated the Sith Lord. On Naboo, all those years ago," Ralem softly replied. He wasn't sure what to expect of the man who sliced his apprentice in half; given the nature of the Jedi, their lack of an individual persona, he should have expected such a thing.

The man named Kenobi nodded. "Yes, I was," His smile slowly dwindled to a solemn expression. "At the cost of my master, Qui-Gon Jinn."

"I'm sorry," Obi-Wan gave a sad, tiny smile at the sympathy.

"I have to grips of it. Letting the Force guide and heal me over the past decade," Obi-Wan waved his hand to the Tortuga girl in front of him. "This is my Padawan, Ahsoka Tano."

Ahsoka Tano nodded politely at the older teen. Ralem returning the nod in kind. "Ralem Solstice." Her smile widened at his name. "If I'm not over stepping any boundaries, could I ask you about that day? With the Sith Lord?"

Ahsoka watched her master stiffened for a split second before he agreed. "I suppose. The Trade Federation had conquered the planet of Naboo, holding it hostage ten years ago. My master and I were tasked to protect the Queen of Naboo, escorting her to Coruscant to make her plea to the Senate. After her meeting, we returned to Naboo, when... The Sith Lord appeared. My master and I fought against the Sith- he was fast, strong, agile. Unlike anything I had seen before." Obi-Wan cleared his throat, trying to ignore the feeling of helplessness he felt next. "Soon my master and the Sith were locked in single combat, I was knocked down several levels of where we fighting but before I could intervene- he killed him. I became overwhelmed with anger, directed towards him, and in my anger I held my ground against the Sith for a time but my anger allowed the Sith to knock me off the ground, and I dangled over the edge of a large cavern down below."

"How were you able to survive, given the situation?" Ralem asked, genuinely curious. "He had the high ground."

Obi-Wan smiled and snorted softly, shaking his head. "I'm not exactly sure myself. Perhaps his overconfidence in his abilities was the cause of his downfall. I had calmed down during that point and allowed the Force to guide me to victory. Leaping over the Sith, I called upon my fallen master's lightsaber and cut him in half. Where he fell down the hole, dead."

The Tortuga listened in surprise to her master's tale. She hadn't known the details of his past, granted he kept it to himself. She found new respect for him, having the control of using the Dark Side for a brief time then falling back to the Light. Without falling to the trap of the Sith.

Similar thoughts crossed Ralem's mind as well. Faced against the man who killed his master, Kenobi kept some form balance during his fight. He failed towards the end, but Kenobi held potential with the Light and Dark. His golden eyes glazed over for a moment, multiple scenarios playing in his mind.

"Amazing," Ralem admired aloud. "I've heard stories of how many Jedi in the past have failed during battles like yours. You must be powerful to not falter as you have."

Obi-Wan chuckled and with a humble hand ignore the flattery. "I don't know about that. I'm not the strongest, the swiftest, or most talented. Though I've been told I can take a punch." He rubbed his bearded jaw humorously at the memories of his Padawan days.

Ralem turned towards Ahsoka. "You must feel special, training under the Jedi who killed the first Sith Lord in a millennia."

She smiled fondly at her master. "I do." Ralem felt the tug of his apprentice's presence in his mind.

"I can sense my master is calling to me. I must leave, excuse me." Ralem excused himself, leaving the Jedi duo alone. Ahsoka watched the older teen leave, a calming sense as she thought of him. He seemed nice, she figured.

 ** **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-****

 ** **One month later (22.2 BBY)... Mandalore****

A large tomb opened to reveal the Je'daii as they walked towards the grave of the first Mandalore of legends. Ralem and Maul stopped in front of the skeleton of Te Sol'yc Mandalore, an old friend from a long past of war.

"Su cuy'gar, ruug'la burc'ya. Mhi urcir tug'yc, va o'r miai Ni aya'na mhi at," Ralem spoke in the Mandalorian tongue. "Pirusti, ret gar haa'taylic bic ibic miai. Ni vercopaanir gar _died_ o'r a gtasada be kote, gar karia naas katkta."

He saw the hilt of his Darksaber underneath the folded hands of Te Sol'yc Mandalore, he had kept it. He smile sincerely at the sight of his old friend before prying his old weapon from the Mandalore. Hearing the soft high-pitched whistle, his eyes became glossed with tears. Waves of nostalgia rippling through him, Ralem spoke.

"Unsheathed your sword Maul, stick the blade onto the dirt," Maul complied with his master's request, pulling the metallic sword from its sheath and plunged it into the sand. "This was my first weapon I created. Simple, elegant but powerful. A mark of a Je'daii, now the mark of you," Ralem faced Maul, golden and yellow eyes watching one another. "I trust you now with this weapon, to bare it is to bare the legacy of the Je'daii Order. Take it with pride."

"I will not fail you master. The Je'daii shall have their rightful place in the galaxy," Maul boldly proclaimed.

"I know you won't. I taught you not to fail," a beeping from the Je'daii Kage's gauntlet alerted him of him of the Star Forge's completion of the Eternal Fleet. "Our Empire is nearly finished, now we bide our time. Watch for an open opportunity for us to strike. I take the Knights of Tython's training are nearly completed?"

Sheathing the Darksaber that his master handed to him onto his belt, Maul answered. "Yes master. Tough and relenting in nature, but effective. Only a few more weeks until they're ready for war."

"Remind me of the number of Knights at our disposal. I forget, it must've been months since we started this journey together," Ralem stated. A flush of nervous excitement coursed through him at the thought of finally, finally, finishing what he dreamed of since he was ten.

Maul focused on the exact number of Knights under his guidance. Personally he was surprised at how many supporters the Je'daii managed to persuade, without the use of Mind-Trick. Then again with the showing and power of the Star Forge on his side, the supporters would be fools to refuse such a swift victory. "I believe ten of thousand, but we should be receiving news of more supporters soon."

"Ten thousand Jedi, ten thousands Knights and two Sith," Ralem observed aloud. "Good, good." His mind flashed back to the Tortuga girl for the briefest of a second. He visibly closed his eyes and shook his head, shaking away the images of her.

"Master?" asked Maul. Ralem shook his head again.

"I just need to rest. I've stretched myself thin over the last few months," Ralem consoled his apprentice. "Which reminds me, there are three things left we need to confront- Jango Fett, the Senators of the Republic and the presence of Death Watch on Mandalore's moon."

"The donor of the Clones," Maul referenced to the Mandalorian. "What use could you have of him? Unless you plan to use him and Death Watch to gain control of the Mandalore system."

"Partially, but not control," clarified Ralem. "Jango Fett is the last of what the Mandalorians faction calling themselves- True Mandalorians, I believe. They combated against the violent splinter of the Death Watch. If you can find Fett and tell him of the Death Watch's resurface, he will help you. Help him, and he will be indebted to us. From this we can help Fett gain control of Mandalore as its rightful leader-" Ralem trailed off purposefully to see if Maul was understanding.

"And Fett will be under our alliance, the strength of the Mandalorian plus the Eternal Empire will be unstoppable," Maul finished his master's plan. "I will find Jango Fett and destroy the Death Watch."

Maul bowed his head to Ralem and started to walk when Ralem called to him. "If you can find a way to combine Jango and the Death Watch, make sure you take it."

The Zabrak Je'daii took the advice in mind and proceeded to travel outside the cave to begin his search, hopefully to find the Mandalorian.

 ** **A**** **/N:** **Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!**

 **It seems that Ralem's plans for the Je'daii Empire is working as he predicted, and with the Eternal Empire at his command, and with potential allies from Mandalore- what will await the fates of the Republic, Separatists, Jedi and Sith?**

 **What will Jango Fett's answer be once Maul finds him?**

 **It seems Ralem has encountered Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ahsoka Tano, I wonder what their next encounter in the future will be like..**

 **Mandalorian translation-**

 ** _Hello, old friend. We meet again, not in the way I expected. Well, maybe you saw it this way. I hope you died in a blaze of glory, you deserved nothing less._**

 **If you have any plot elements or ideas to share, don't hesitate to leave it in the comment/review section or PM me.**

 **Ralem's power level:**

 **Power Scaling-**

 **Solar System to Solar System+ level:**

 **Naga Sadow** **(** _with Sith Corsaid and Sith relics through Dark Side Magic_ **)**

 **World Razor** **(** _Destroyed 100 stars and 1,000 planets as according to the Rakata ruins and the Failsafe; the full power of the Infinite Empire was needed to defeat it_ **)**

 **Star to Star+ level:**

Father

Abeloth

 **Planet to Planet+ level:**

Grand Master Luke Skywalker

Ralem Kyo Solstice ( _potentially higher to Star level_ )

Son ( _Large Planet_ )

Daughter ( _Large Planet_ )

Darth Sidious ( _Small Planet_ )

Yoda ( _Small Planet; contained Sidious' lighting for a few seconds_ )

Valkorion ( _Small Planet; after the ritual on Ziost_ )

Darth Nihilus ( _Potentially if he absorbs enough Force power from said planet, but constant hunger staves off from full use of his power_ )

 **Moon to Moon+ level:**

Sith Emperor

 **Multi-Continent to Multi-Continent+ level:**

 **Galen Marek/Starkiller (** ** _Comparable to Darth Vader; previously Continent level_** **)**

 **Darth Vader (** _His training as a Sith Lord has noticeably increased his power from his previous peak as Anakin Skywalker; previously Co_ _ntinent_ _level_ )

 **Revan (** ** _At his best, he nearly matched the Sith Emperor_** **)**

 **Continent to Continent+ level:**

Mace Windu ( _potentially Small Planet use the continued use of Vaapad against his fight with Sidious in ROTS_ )

Darth Bane

Darth Nihilus ( _Razed the surface of Katarr and killed all life on the planet sans Visas Marr_ )

Darth Malak

Darth Plageuis

Count Dooku ( _One of the most powerful Jedi the Order had ever produced, even before his powers became enhanced by becoming a Sith Lord; previously Island+ level_ )

Darth Maul ( _appears to be comparable to, if not slightly weaker than, Darth Tyranus per Son of Dathomir; previously Island level_ )

Anakin Skywalker ( _Surpassed Darth Tyranus at his peak in Revenge of the Sith; previously Island level_ )

Obi-Wan Kenobi ( _Telekinetically stalemated a Darth Vader that, while emotionally compromised, was still well above his Padawan self in raw power; previously Island level_ )

Ki-Adi Mundi ( _He's a member of the Jedi Council, so he should be comparable to Obi-Wan Kenobi; previously Island level_ )

Meetra Surik ( _Managed to defeat Darth Traya_ )

Shaak Ti ( _Same as Ki-Adi Mundi_ )

Aayla Secura ( _Same as Ki-Adi Mundi_ )

Plo Koon ( _Same as Ki-Adi Mundi_ )

Arcann

Thexan

 **Country to Country+ level:**

Ajunta Pall

Satele Shan ( _Is a peer of Darth Malgus_ )

Darth Malgus

Meetra Surik ( _Killed the Greater Storm Beast on Malachor V; Small Country level_ )

Darth Sion

 **Island to Island+ level:**

Darth Nihilus ( _Pulled the Ravager out of Malachor V's orbit and continues to keep it from falling apart through pure force of will; far higher once fed_ )

 **City Block to City Block+ level:**

Ahsoka Tano

Barriss Offee


	12. Perception is Reality

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything pertaining to the Star Wars franchise; all rightsare acquired to Disney. The only things I own are my OC's Ralem Solstice.**

 **"Speaking"**

 **'Thoughts'**

 **'** _ **Telepathic**_ **'**

 **Review Responses:**

 **Guest (Chapter 11):** Thanks. You are correct, Anakin is a female in this story.

 **Zer0the0mega108 (Chapter 11):** Thanks! Yeah, I was figuring either Obi-Wan or Plo Koon would've taken the role of Ahsoka's master, but figured Obi-Wan would be a bit easier to understand; given how they interacted in the show. Can't argue with you there in regards to Padme lol XD.

 **Allhailthesith (Chapter 1):** Is there any reason why your interest dropped from this story? Was I taking too long for the story to take place in the Clone Wars, or was it something else? Perhaps you might want to reconsider rereading the story since now I'm in the Clone Wars era and it might revamp your renewal in this story. But I do appreciate your honesty and in your interest in my Darth Idoneus and my Legacy of the Throne stories, hope you continue to read and enjoy those.

 **Danny R (Chapter 11):** Here you go.

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

 **Jedi Temple; Coruscant**

Ralem tightened the Jedi robes around his body, choosing to have the hood pulled down this time. No one would be able to recognize him anyway, he figured with a smite of pride. He walked down the cavernous halls of the Temple, passing by the various Jedi in his wake. The Je'daii could sense Yoda meditating in his private chambers, he smirked at the thought that the Avatar of the Light Side was blinded by his own beliefs; the light can blind to those stupid enough to stare directly at it.

Though he had to keep in check his own hubris, based on the knowledge he acquired from the last few thousand years worth of data and Holocrons that he would be dealing with Force users that could match his strength and who had more battle experience that he did. Although he was the creator of all things Force, he did not have any worthy opponents to face...

He ignored the irony of his thought and continued down his path- he wanted to find Obi-Wan and Ahsoka. The Jedi Master could be a key element in this war and his apprentice was strong in the Force. He repeated this thought to himself in regards to the Tortuga. His mind flashed back to her smile towards him, his heart quicken a bit at the thought. Ralem stumbled to the side of the wall and leaned against it, shutting his eyes shut. Trying to calm himself down. It was similar to Lanoree...

That thought made him more than uncomfortable. Hot flashes flourished through him, rubbing his forehead he pushed himself away from the wall and continued. He could sense her... A Force Bond. That wasn't right, they were never this quickly formed, not just from one meeting. They barely spoke to each other.

"Ralem, right?" called a familiar voice. Ralem shook his head and looked towards Ahsoka. The disguised Je'daii mumbled incoherently at the sight of her, shaking his head. "You feeling ok? You don't look to well."

"I'm a little under the weather to be honest, but I'll be fine," Ralem admitted. It was truth enough. "Actually I was looking for you."

Ahsoka raised her eyebrow amusingly. "You were looking for me huh?"

The Je'daii shrugged his shoulders teasingly. "Well, your master specifically but close enough right?"

The Tortuga rolled her eyes and smiled. "Right, so did you stop by for more of my master's stories? Or something else?" Her eyes lingered on Ralem. "Who is your master by the way, I don't think you said when we first met."

The Je'daii rubbed underneath his chin. "Sifo-Dyas, why?"

"Just curious, it's just that you don't look that familiar," admitted Ahsoka. Ralem chuckled at the younger female Tortuga, rolling his head along his neck.

"There are like ten thousand Jedi in the Order, pretty sure you haven't seen ALL of them right?" countered Ralem. Ahsoka frowned a little but she relented quickly.

"Guess not," she took another glance towards Ralem and noticed that he wasn't wearing a Padawan braid. She halted in front of Ralem and folded her arms, silently demanding an explanation. Ralem squinted his eyes curiously at the sudden change in demeanor of Ahsoka.

"I don't like that look you're giving me," stated Ralem firmly.

Reaching for her lightsaber, Ahsoka's emerald blade ignited and she pointed it at Ralem. "And I don't like being lied to. You're no Jedi."

"You're making quite the mistake in accusing me," assured Ralem. "A Jedi wouldn't accuse his own brethren without proof."

"I have the proof I need- the lack of a Padawan braid on your head," said Ahsoka. The snicker coming from Ralem caused Ahsoka to squint in confusion.

"That's all?" Ralem asked, smirking condescendingly. He reached towards the bottom of his Jedi tunic and pulled it upwards, revealing his scarred and toned body. Seeing his toned body caused her cheeks to heat up, but seeing the scars on his chest made her shudder. They were deep scars, she feel her skin tingle at the possible torture he went through. "My master and I were captured during a mission in the Outer Rim, sorcerers I think. They used our connection to our Force for some ritual. My master died and I escaped." He placed his tunic back down, smoothing out the wrinkles. "Anything else you want to accuse me of? Being a Sith?"

Faltering from embarrassment Ahsoka lowered her lightsaber. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't..."

"You haven't left the Temple, or Coruscant for missions, have you?"

"No," admitted Ahsoka, casting her eyes away in guilt.

Ralem sighed, he wasn't lying, technically, about the ritual part. "The galaxy is pretty big place from I learned, you'll never know the type of people you'll meet. Though I think I got the short end of the stick on my mission."

Not knowing what she should say, or say anything at all, she just nodded. "Is that why you were asking my master about his battle against the Sith? You think that those sorcerers might have been with the Sith?"

Ralem shrugged his shoulders. "Who knows, I've done a little research on the history of the Sith in Jedi library with the Holocrons. Haven't found too much."

Sheathing her lightsaber and placed it back on her belt, Ahsoka stood next to the sixteen year old. "I think you should tell my master about this, he might be interested in hearing this."

"No, it just might be freak accident or something," Ralem said. "Kind of odd to say I know, but-" He paused and shrugged his shoulders. The Tortuga saw the tired and weathered look on Ralem's face, judging it best to let it go.

"Your probably right. How about if I tag along with you for awhile, figure you might want someone who'll listen," offered Ahsoka. "Oh, did you talk to the Council about your master?"

Ralem smiled fondly at her offer. "I did. I'm just waiting now until they've made their decision, so I'm grounded here at the Temple for now. I wouldn't mind the company."

Ahsoka too smiled and the two walked down the hallway, the Tortuga recommending the same spot where they first met; at the open pasture of the Temple.

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

 **Concord Dawn**

The Zabrak Je'daii sped through the waist high grains of the planet, tracking down the Mandalorian that his master tasked him with fighting. To overthrow the leader of Death Watch and reclaim Mandalore under the alliance of the Je'daii and the True Mandalorians. He could sense him, he was close. Coming across a small village down below the hill Maul was standing upon, he found the home of Jango Fett.

Maul pulled his hood up as he walked through the village, wanting to remain anonymous from the villagers. Having found the Mandalorian carrying a large bundle towards his home, Maul approached him. From the corner of his eye Jango saw the hooded figure heading in his direction, he was dressed like a Jedi. Placing the bundle down on the ground Jango reached for the vibro-blade hidden in his boot.

"I did not come to kill you, so you can stop reaching for the blade," the Zabrak said, appearing right next to the crouched Mandalorian. Jango flexed his open hand and stood to face the hooded figure.

"Did you come for another sample for the Clones?" asked Jango.

A surge of anger overcame the Zabrak briefly, the brief remainder of his former master's plan and betrayal. He calmed himself shortly afterward. "No, I am not in league with the Sith or the Jedi. My master has sent me here to find you- to get rid of Death Watch."

Maul felt Jango's anger rising at the mention of Death Watch. He internally smirked at how easy this would be.

"You're lying. I killed Vizla years ago, the Death Watch has been dead," retorted Jango.

"As were the Mandalorians in which era of the galaxy, yet here you are," Maul countered. "I need your help to overthrow them."

"What's in it for you?" asked the Mandalorian.

"Me, nothing. But for my master and you, plenty," Maul removed his hood to reveal his red and black face. "My master offers you the position of Mandalore, if you help us with Death Watch. And I know you heard the rumors Satine's rule."

The Mandalorian frowned. "Yeah, I've heard. Satine's trying to turn the Mandalorians into pacifists, like the Jedi."

"And if you were to rule as Mandalore, you could turn the Mandalorians back to how they're suppose to be," offered Maul. "True warriors, warriors of honor."

Jango offered a smirk to the Zabrak's offer. "You certainly make a tempting offer... Who's the current leader of Death Watch?"

"From what I discovered- Pre Vizsla," said Maul. Jango snarled at the name of Vizsla. His father was beaten and killed by Tor Vizsla himself, his sister kidnapped. He fought against Death Watch for years, trained by his adoptive father Jaster Mereel. He enjoyed beating down and killing Tor Vizla with his bare hands and his skills after he killed six Jedi unarmed; using only his hands, feet, and armored body. A feat which rendered him infamous and famous across the galaxy.

Jango felt the call within his Mandalorian blood, he promised vengeance against the people who killed his family. He succeeded, or so he believed. He was Mandalore once before, for his own purpose. Now he would have to regain his place by eliminating the Death Watch for good and overthrowing Duchess Satine.

"Where is he now?" demanded Jango.

"You tell me, you know the Death Watch better than anyone," said Maul.

Jango looked through the window of his home, watching his son sleeping on the bed.

"Last I heard Vizsla became governor on Mandalore's moon Concordia. We can start there," Maul agreed and waited as Jango went inside his home to grab his armor and weapons.

Jango knelt next to his sleeping son, placing his hand gently on his head and rubbed his hair. He watched his son closely, he would be a great Mandalorian when he finished his rite of passage- the Verd'goten.

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

Ralem and Ahsoka sat peacefully next to each other watching the younger Padawans train in the art of lightsaber combat. They talked a little during their time together, enjoying the view that open pasture had to offer. Ralem felt his jaw tighten at the thought of him hiding in the very temple that he built. But a harmless price for what he needed to do.

"Kinda makes you wonder about the Force doesn't it?" asked Ralem, leaning back on his palms. Ahsoka looked over to him curiously, thrown off by his sudden question. "I mean your master did use the Dark side briefly to stand toe to toe with the Sith."

"But that also caused him to lose focus and nearly die," Ahsoka countered. Ralem tilted his head in understanding, What she was kind of true.

"I guess but it also shows how quickly in power a Force wielder could have if you tap into the Dark side."

"Are you talking about like a Grey Jedi?" asked Ahsoka.

Ralem resisted a smile. "Yeah. But something more than that, you know? I was always curious on the nature of the Force." He felt the Tortuga direct her full attention towards him. "Is there something more than just the Light and Dark sides, Jedi and Sith?"

"I don't know. I guess."

"Hm, I wonder if there was an Order that predated the Jedi and Sith. An Order that was about the balance of the Force, instead of galactic wars that have brought up for thousands of years since the Jedi and Sith were around," said Ralem, fixing his gaze towards the sky.

"That sounds possibly I think. Did your master teach you that?"

Ralem shook his head. "I asked him about it. He didn't really reject what I was saying, but he seemed pretty set on the Jedi being the best hope for peace."

Ahsoka thought about what Ralem was saying. She saw the curious expression on his face as he gazed at the sky. Her master never talked about the nature of the Force, though she also figured the Masters wouldn't talk about it either. They must know what they're talking about...

"Still the Light side would be the best path, the Sith would likely control everything and take everyone's freewill," Ahsoka said.

"And the Jedi don't?" countered Ralem, his golden eyes peering at her. "The Jedi take newborn babies from their families and they never allow the families to see them. They restrict emotions from the beginning, denying them that "freewill" of choice."

"The reason the Jedi don't use emotions is because they can overwhelm the mind in a heated battle," Ahsoka explained. "Like Obi-Wan's fight against the Sith."

"Doesn't that prove my point? Obi-Wan used his emotions to gain equal footing for a bit, but Jedi aren't trained to use emotions so he faltered from the unknown emotion, but when he calmed down he won," Ralem stated. "From what I can tell, emotions seem to be temporary in any given situation. There's nothing wrong with anger or love, but it's the usage of emotion."

"You've seem to given this some thought," Ahsoka quipped.

"When you're being tortured, it helps to keep your mind preoccupied," Ralem said calmly. Another feeling of guilt pitted in Ahsoka's gut. "You see what I mean?"

"... I think so," admitted Ahsoka. "I just don't know if any Jedi could do what you say."

"Who knows, but I discovered a little secret: since for as long as the Jedi and Sith have been around, the Jedi have gone through more purges than the Sith ever had. The Sith have gone through two, one of the old and the second being the Rule of the Two. The Jedi have gone numerous purges, makes you wonder why," implied Ralem.

Ahsoka started to realize what Ralem was saying, what he was implying, made sense. Though she didn't know what to do. Listen to her master and the Order or listen to Ralem. The smallest part of her did wonder what it would be like to step the line between the Light and Dark side.

The disguised Je'daii felt her growing hesitation in the Order, he sensed her curiosity. He tagged her, now he would have to reel her in; bit by bit.

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

 **Concordia**

 _Slave I_ descended quickly down the upper atmosphere of Mandalore's moon, landing gently onto the platform of the mining camp where Governor Vizsla was residing. Maul and Jango left the ship, seeing the platform as empty.

"I sense something off, we might be heading into a trap," said Maul, peering towards the sky, listening to the Force. Jango pulled his WESTAR-34 blasters from his holsters, he knew better than to question a Force wielder's senses.

"Better take precautions then, don't want to be dragging your body out of here," Jango pressed a button on his wrist gauntlet, a hologram of the mining camp's layout visible. "We shouldn't be too far from where Vizsla is hiding, once we infiltrate the inner workings and kill any of the Death Watch that tries to stop us, I'll handle Vizsla myself."

"Kill him and Mandalore shall be yours again," Maul finished. "Your Mandalorian code can be blinding sometimes. And simple."

"Depends on which end of a blaster you're facing when you say that," Jango retorted. The Zabrak Je'daii eyed the Mandalorian, following him closely as they entered the compound.

The dimly lighted hallway made its presence ominous in nature. For the two warriors, it was natural. The Je'daii kept his senses open, he felt multiple presences ahead. Non-threatening in nature, they must know they were here yet, Maul suspected.

The Zabrak Je'daii sped ahead of Jango, kneeling against the corner of another hallway. Three Death Watch members, naturally armed, standing towards the left hand side of the hall. Jango pulled a smoke bomb from his pocket, kneeling next to Maul, he slid the bomb between the three unexpecting Mandalorians.

The sound of ensuing explosion and coughing launched Maul and Jango in action; the Zabrak activating the Darksaber and slashing two of the Death Watch members and Jango snuck behind the third and snapped his neck.

"Hide the bodies, I'll take care of the other Death Watch members and clear a path for you," ordered Maul. Jango dragged one body away as he watched Maul disappear behind the entrance way.

 **-** ** **Rise of the Je'daii Empire-****

 ** **Supreme Chancellor's office****

"I am afraid I do not understand," Supreme Chancellor Palpatine said. The elder Chancellor wore regal robes of black and brown with beige sash against his stomach. Sitting across from him was a young man, no older than sixteen or seventeen, dressed in form fitting black robes with gold decoration and lining. "You claim to hail from the planet Tython in the Deep Core sector, and you wish to join the Senate?"

"Rejoin the Senate," clarified the young man. "My people decided to break away from the Republic thousands of years ago, but over the recent years my father and our family have decided to rejoin the Republic."

"While I'm honored for another system to join us, I'm afraid I can only bring the topic of debate to the Senate and have them decide on the matter," Palpatine confessed.

The young man nodded. "I see. Hopefully the delegation won't take too long to deliberate."

"I must say it is most impressive for a young man of your age to take such a responsibility for your people, but I am afraid there might be an age restriction for the representation of a star system," Palpatine clarified. "I am afraid someone else will have to represent your people until the matter with the Senate is relieved."

"Then I'm afraid there might be a problem. You see, my government is based on a monarchy, and given that my father is deathly ill at the current time, the duty of my people falls onto me." Palpatine admired the conviction of the young man in front of him, he held a firm voice along with passionate verbose. "Besides my people were one of the founding systems of the Galactic Republic when it was first formed twenty-five thousand years ago, it seems only fair."

"While a most intriguing and fond information, I'm afraid you cannot gain special treatment. You did after all withdraw from the Republic in the first place," informed the Chancellor.

"Duly noted Chancellor, but I'm afraid you misunderstand, I'm not expecting special treatment of any kind but I am asking for a speedy trial of sorts," proclaimed the young man.

"I apologize for interrupting Chancellor but something has been called to your attention," a young man woman around the age of nineteen appeared from behind the young man and walked beside the Supreme Chancellor.

She was the woman from the vision. Skywalker, if he remembered correctly. And she was beautiful as seen in the vision, though her hair was a tad shorter and wrapped in a curled ponytail

His stare caught both the woman's and Chancellor's attention. The young man before them cleared his throat and looked towards his left, staring at the decor. The woman nearly smirked at his reaction, she knew the body she had and the lustful desires she invoked in the male Senators in the Republic, but those entitled pigs were beneath her.

He could feel her power in the Force, she was powerful indeed. Potentially rivaling his own in fair time. The Chancellor's own power, while masked, nearly rivaled his own in fair regards.

Two of the most powerful Sith in existence stood in front of him, no idea of what power laid before them. A god of the Force.

The young man eyed the woman again, drawing his golden eyes across her luscious body. Not hiding his intentions in full view.

"I have taken enough of your time now Chancellor, if everything is in order I should get going. I pray that you'll take this matter with utmost urgency," said the young man. Bowing his head in respect to the Chancellor, he turned towards the exit. Palpatine watched the boy leave his office.

The young man halted before he left the room, turning around to face her. "I'm afraid I didn't catch your name, how rude of me."

The woman smirked crookedly on her beautiful face, adding an air of mystery to her. "Only after you tell me yours."

The young man clicked his tongue teasingly. "Now now, etiquette dictates that it's ladies first."

"Annika Skywalker."

"Solaris, Kaleb Solaris. Maybe you'd like to get a drink sometime with me."

Annika drawled her eyes in much the same fashion as he did to her. Maybe she would think about it, he looked rather dashing. "Maybe."

"Well, it wasn't a no," teased Solaris before disappearing through the door. Annika smiled before catching Palpatine's yellow eye watching her.

 ** **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-****

Ralem strolled down the corridor having left the Supreme Chancellor's office, one step towards the Republic and another step towards the Jedi. He wouldn't bother with the Separatists for the meantime, they were just a distraction. Walking past the multitude of Senators, Ralem noticed that he was nearing the Grand Convocation Chambers, the usual meeting place of the Galactic Senate. He wondered if anything had changed during his absence...

Stepping through one of the entrances Ralem stood on one of the pods, apparently nothing had changed in decor of the Chambers.

"I believe you have taken the wrong pod," Ralem turned to see a beautiful woman in her early twenties, dressed in the finest robes of Naboo attire.

"Sorry, I'm new here," Ralem admitted sheepishly.

The woman smiled warmly. "That's alright. I don't believe I've seen you here, is your parents one of the representatives here?"

"Actually I am the representative for my system," said Ralem.

The woman eyed him curiously. "You seem to a little young, what system do you represent?"

"Tython, in the Deep Core."

"Deep Core... It does sound familiar, isn't Tython close to Coruscant?"

"Extremely. In fact my people were one of the founding members of the Republic when it was first created twenty-five years ago," Ralem explained.

"It's hard to believe that the Republic and Democracy has remained for that long," the woman said.

How ironic those words were to Ralem.

"I'm Kaleb Solaris," greeted the disguised Je'daii.

"Padme Amidala," Padme returned the greeting. The Je'daii reached for her hand and kissed the back of it politely.

"Hm, I must say I'm charmed by your radiating beauty. You must be an angel."

Padme rolled her eyes at the flowery flirtation, but she was flattered nonetheless. "You definitely have the words of a poet."

Kaleb squinted his eyes at the light sarcasm. "One of my secrets."

Padme smiled but darkened at a thought. "Are you trying to reenter the Republic? You mentioned that your people were one of the founding members of the Republic but I don't recall your status in the Senate."

"Technically Tython removed itself from the Republic thousands of years if I remember, wanting to stay neutral in whatever events were happening at that time but recently my father and our family have decided to come back to the Republic," the Je'daii explained.

"It's nice to have another system in our little family," joked Padme. "Have you talked with the Supreme Chancellor about it?"

"Actually I just came out of the meeting with him a few minutes ago, figured I stay around the Senate Building until the next session. Don't know when that will be, but I figure it'll be a while given all the Senators are starting to leave," Kaleb said.

"The Senate has taken a recess. They won't be coming back for a few hours anyway," Padme said. Seeing the blank on Kaleb's face, Padme decided to help him out. "Why don't you come with me to my office? You can relax there while I take care of some things."

Kaleb hesitated on the idea. "I don't know, I don't to intrude-"

"It's the least I can do, now come, I won't take no for an answer. I know what it was when I first became Senator," Padme started towards her office as Kaleb followed closely.

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

Maul and Jango ventured deeper into the mining camp, sneaking past the large infrastructures. After killing more than a dozen Death Watch members they were close to their target. Maul halted Jango with signal- more Death Watch members were on the railing above. Nodding Jango pulled out one of his WESTAR-34 blaster and fired once at the back of one Mandalorian's head, Maul snapping the other's neck with the Force.

"Up on the bridge to the left should lead us to Vizsla," said Jango.

Maul leapt onto the bridge and Jango followed shortly. Walking towards another small hallway they found an elevator, entering into it they traveled upward.

Once the elevator opened, revealing a spacious dining area with a low table with pillows in place of chairs and a bar to the side of the table. It was empty. Taking slow steps into the room, Maul used his senses with the Force to feel any presence hiding-

Blaster fire opened on Zabrak and True Mandalorian, Maul blocking numerous shots with his Darksaber as Jango used the Zabrak as a shield, and fired back at the ambush.

"Stand down!" ordered Pre Vizsla. The leader of Death Watch entered the room and removed his helmet, holding the expression of amused contempt. "The last of the "True" Mandalorians, while your reputation as a warrior is without question amongst me and my men, your actions are most unsavory."

"You have some nerve calling my actions unsavory Vizsla. Your Death Watch sullies the honor of my people, and I'll enjoy tearing you apart as I did your kinsman Tor Vizsla," scolded Jango.

Vizsla clenched his jaw tightly at the insult. "I saw the body of my kinsman, the misshaped face beaten to a pulp. I barely recognized him. You would bode well with Death Watch."

"I vowed to kill Death Watch, and in accordance to the Supercammando Codex of Mandalore Jaster Mereel, I challenge you to a fight to the death," Jango held to his blasters tightly, his fingers itching to gun Vizsla. Hearing the challenge Vizsla knew of the honor that was threatened towards him.

"So be it," agreed Vizsla placed his helmet back on. "Tell the Jedi to stay out of our fight."

"That'll be the last insult you breathe," Jango immediately went on the offensive, firing his blasters at Vizsla. The leader of Death Watch rolled out of the way from the blaster fire towards the low bearing table. Pulling his WESTAR-35 blaster he returned fire, Maul moved out of the way behind Jango. Charging headfirst into the fray Jango tackled Vizsla and as the Mandalorians tumbled over each other, Vizsla kicked Jango off of him and landed against the bar stand.

Getting to his feet Jango ducked beneath the stream of fire from Vizsla's gauntlet, forcing the True Mandalorian to stay at a distance. Seeing his blasters behind Vizsla, Jango opted for another choice. He flipped behind the bar stool, and hearing the roar of the fire cease, grabbed a few items from the bar- a cloth and a bottle of alcohol. Simple and effective.

Lighting the cloth Jango wait a few seconds before tossing it over the bar, a small explosion rocked the room.

"Alcohol? Surely the Mandalorian who killed six Jedi with his own hands can surely do better," Vizsla mocked. Jango only had few options left at his disposal and with his blasters out of his reach, they were growing smaller.

One of the Death Watch members...

Peering from the corner and seeing Vizsla walking to his position, Jango rushed over to one of bystanding Mandalorians and grabbed their blaster, taking aim and firing at Vizsla's wrist. Yelling in pain Vizsla dropped his blaster, grunting through his teeth at the pain.

"You think you've won? Taking another Mandalorian's blaster as your own?" Vizsla demanded.

"A Mandalorian helps his brethren, no matter what," Jango replied, tossing the blaster back to its owner. "Now get up, your ass is not finished getting kicked yet."

Vizsla snarled at the mockery and charged blindly at Jango, his adrenaline pumping his strength several times more than the average man. Jango felt those blows against his forearms, his bones rattled from each hit. Vizsla was losing his edge, his lust for blood clouding his mind. Landing a strong knee to the leader of Death Watch's stomach, Jango lunged towards his WESTAR-34 blasters and fired openly into the chest of Pre Vizsla.

Pre Vizsla, former leader of Death Watch, stumbled on his feet, hopefully refusing to die. His will was not strong enough to prevent that. Landing face first on the ground, the rightful leader stood onto his feet, the Mandalorians of Death Watch kneeling in front of him.

Knowing his master's plan, Maul stepped towards Jango; halting at the sight of the Mandalorians take aim at him.

"At ease," ordered Jango and the Mandalorians complied. "I reckon I should thank you for helping me kill of Death Watch for good." He observed his brethren then back to the Zabrak. "And do you suppose your master plans on me achieving the rank of Mandalore again?"

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

Ralem and Padme laughed endearingly in her office, the panoramic window behind the Naboo Senator bestowed a lovely view of the Coruscant skyline. They told each stories of one another, little adventures and tales of their cultures. For the first time Ralem was enjoying himself.

A cold wash of emptiness overflowed Ralem, seeping onto his face. And Padme noticed the sullen change in his face.

"What's wrong?" she asked worryingly.

Ralem blinked several times, he felt his face becoming hot. "Um, uh..." He wiped his forehead. "Not sure, excuse me."

But, he realized, why he was enjoying himself. She reminded him of Lanoree. She really did look like her. Padme was a bit more stubborn than Lanoree, but it was clearly there to the Je'daii Kage.

He ran quickly to Padme's restroom and closed the door. Running the sink he splashed cold water several times, panting quietly.

Focus...

Focus...

He knew where these feelings lead him.

"Not yet, I've come too far this time. Not yet," he chanted to himself, staring pleadingly at his reflection. "The hell am I doing?"

Having told himself what he needed to do over and over, it didn't provide him with clarity. He was stuck in a rut. Was he afraid of bringing peace to the galaxy? Of actually winning this war?

The communicator beeped from his back pocket. Silently thankful from his silent torture, Ralem pulled the communicator to see Maul.

"Where is Jango Fett?" asked Ralem. The armored figure of Jango appeared next to Maul. The Je'daii Kage knew Jango was studying him, judging whether or not this was a joke.

"He's younger than I expected," Jango said. "But you made good on your word."

"And you as well, so it's safe to assume that Vizsla is dead," said Ralem.

"Yes, and your next step in your plan is to overthrow Duchess Satine," Jango said.

"I did, but you know as well as I that the New Mandalorians-" He cut himself short, looking towards the door. He almost forgot that Padme was here. "that the New Mandalorians won't follow you willingly, not yet. You need to prove your ideas compared to the pacifist ideology of Satine's."

"I'm not attacking my own people if that's what you're suggesting," Ralem gave the True Mandalorian a condescending stare.

"You won't have to. The war that will happen so will take care of that, either by the Separatists or by the Republic," said Ralem. "For now I would advise taking the remains of Death Watch and revert them to the True Mandalorians, I'll be asking for your services soon."

"Already on it," Ralem watched the holographic figure of Jango disappear.

"I've already infiltrated the Republic and made a plea with the Supreme Chancellor to make the Tython system a part of the Senate," Ralem informed Maul. "I'm going to be spending most of my time on Coruscant between the Senate and the Jedi Order, so I'm leaving you in charge of Tython and the Empire until I give the order."

"Understood my master," Maul said. The Zabrak held a look of hesitation. "How did his power feel?"

"Like you told me, the Dark side incarnate," mused Ralem. Palpatine did hold immense power for a mortal, that thought troubled Ralem somewhat. Naturally that would mean that Yoda would be the same for the Light side. Yet, that also thrilled him.

"May the Force be with you," Maul said before the transmission cut short.

"I might need something more than the Force," muttered Ralem, setting his head against the edge of the sink.

 **A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!**

 **The seeds of doubt of the Jedi have been planted into Ahsoka by Ralem, how her views continue to change?**

 **And Ralem has met Palpatine and Annika Skywalker (Fem Anakin Skywalker) briefly...**

 **If you have any plot elements or ideas to share, don't hesitate to leave it in the comment/review section or PM me.**

 **Ralem's Collective:**

Ahsoka Tano, Asajj Ventress, Padme Amidala, Riyo Chuchi, Sabine Wren, Satele Shan, Shae Vizla, Adi Gallia, Shaak Ti, Aayla Secura, Luminara Unduli, Barriss Offee, Tiplee, Tiplar, Bo-Katan Kryze, Duchess Satine, Miraj Scintel, Darth Talon, Steele Gerrea, The Daughter, Mina Bonteri, Hera, Jarael, Deliah Blue, Jaina Solo, Mara Jade, Savan, Vaylin, Senya Tirall, Queen Julia, Sola Naberrie, Breha Organa, Fem Revan, Meetra Surik, Celeste Mourne, Keelyvine Reus, Nadia Grell, Akaavi Spar, Jaesa Willsaam, Ashara Zavros, Kaliyo Djannis, Raina Temple, Darth Zannah, Visas Marr, Brianna, Raskta Lsu, Elke Vetter, Azlyn Rae, Sigel Dare, Leia Organa, Rook Kast, Siri Tachi, Krovos, Mirax Terrick, Syal Antilles, Callista Ming, Kerra Holt, Candra Tymon, Rig Nema, Lolo Purs, Mon Mothma, Ketsu Onyo, Atris, Sev'rance Tann, Fem Anakin Skywalker, Voe Atell

 **Power Scaling-**

 **Solar System to Solar System+ level:**

Naga Sadow ( _with Sith Corsaid and Sith relics through Dark Side Magic_ )

World Razor ( _Destroyed 100 stars and 1,000 planets as according to the Rakata ruins and the Failsafe; the full power of the Infinite Empire was needed to defeat it_ )

 **Star to Star+ level:**

Father

Abeloth

 **Planet to Planet+ level:**

Grand Master Luke Skywalker

Ralem Kyo Solstice ( _potentially higher to Star level_ )

Son ( _Large Planet_ )

Daughter ( _Large Planet_ )

Darth Sidious ( _Small Planet_ )

Yoda ( _Small Planet; contained Sidious' lighting for a few seconds_ )

Valkorion ( _Small Planet; after the ritual on Ziost_ )

Darth Nihilus ( _Potentially if he absorbs enough Force power from said planet, but constant hunger staves off from full use of his power_ )

Mace Windu ( _Small Planet_ _with_ _the continued use of Vaapad against his fight with Sidious in ROTS_ )

 **Moon to Moon+ level:**

Sith Emperor

Arcann ( _Matched and overpowered the Hero of Tython/Outlander_ )

Thexan ( _Was considered a bit higher than Arcann himself_ )

Vaylin

 **Multi-Continent to Multi-Continent+ level:**

Galen Marek/Starkiller **(** _Comparable to Darth Vader; previously Continent level_ **)**

Darth Vader **(** _His training as a Sith Lord has noticeably increased his power from his previous peak as Anakin Skywalker; previously Continent level_ )

Revan **(** _At his best, he nearly matched the Sith Emperor_ **)**

 **Continent to Continent+ level:**

Mace Windu ( _Normally;_ _Small Planet_ _with_ _the continued use of Vaapad against his fight with Sidious in ROTS_ )

Darth Bane

Darth Nihilus ( _Razed the surface of Katarr and killed all life on the planet sans Visas Marr_ )

Darth Malak

Darth Plageuis

Count Dooku ( _One of the most powerful Jedi the Order had ever produced, even before his powers became enhanced by becoming a Sith Lord; previously Island+ level_ )

Darth Maul ( _appears to be comparable to_ _, i_ _f not slightly weaker than, Darth Tyranus per Son of Dathomir; previously Island level_ )

Anakin Skywalker ( _Surpassed Darth Tyranus at his peak in Revenge of the Sith; previously Island level_ )

Obi-Wan Kenobi ( _Telekinetically stalemated a Darth Vader that, while emotionally compromised, was still well above his Padawan self in raw power; previously Island level_ )

Ki-Adi Mundi ( _He's a member of the Jedi Council, so he should be comparable to Obi-Wan Kenobi; previously Island level_ )

Meetra Surik ( _Managed to defeat Darth Traya_ )

Shaak Ti ( _Same as Ki-Adi Mundi_ )

Aayla Secura ( _Same as Ki-Adi Mundi_ )

Plo Koon ( _Same as Ki-Adi Mundi_ )

Aayla Secura

 **Country to Country+ level:**

Ajunta Pall

Satele Shan ( _Is a peer of Darth Malgus_ )

Darth Malgus

Meetra Surik ( _Killed the Greater Storm Beast on Malachor V; Small Country level_ )

Darth Sion

 **Island to Island+ level:**

Darth Nihilus ( _Pulled the Ravager out of Malachor V's orbit and continues to keep it from falling apart through pure force of will; far higher once fed_ )

 **City Block to City Block+ level:**

Ahsoka Tano

Barriss Offee


	13. Across the Stars

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything pertaining to the Star Wars franchise; all rightsare acquired to Disney. The only things I own are my OC's Ralem Solstice.**

 **"Speaking"**

 **'Thoughts'**

 **'** _ **Telepathic**_ **'**

 **Review Responses:**

 **Zer0the0mega108 (Chapter 12):** XD. Glad you enjoyed the chapter, though you probably won't see much more fighting until either the next chapter or the following one. But it will come soon I promise.

 ** **Danny R (Chapter 12):**** Thanks.

 ** **ThedemonlordPingu (Chapter 12):**** Thank you, I will show Ralem's Empire being developed, or in this case redeveloped since he has to rebuild the destruction of Tython from the Force Wars.

 ** **Mr. Click (Chapter 12):**** Thank you kindly, and that will be revealed soon :).

I'd imagine so, that was kind of Cortana's purpose I suppose for the longest of times since Ralem's disappearance. I'd also imagine she could have acquired information of Darth Bane's holocron as well. And with Ralem's wealth, oh he is definitely loaded, probably the second richest person in the galaxy (some of the wealth that would've been Ralem's was invested by Cortana to the InterGalactic Banking Clan for example).

I did read the suggestions you had for this story and I loved them. However I used the Star Forge idea and the secret corporation idea for my other SW story Shadows of the Sun (if you're interested in reading that). I do like the idea of the ships being named after Ralem's loved ones :')

Though I see Ralem as fed up with hiding. He kept himself in the shadows for so long, so to speak, and he's realized that during his war against the Infinite Empire.

Plus his Empire is _almost_ complete- he's got the Eternal Fleet, the Knights of Zakuul (renamed Knights of Tython), he's got Maul, now he just needs to spread out across the galaxy. But don't worry Ralem's not going to strongarm anyone but he will serve a swift hand to those who deserve it ;).

And your idea with Jango and Mandalore the Rebirth, Ralem did promise Jango that he would see that he would be leader of Mandalore if he worked with him.

 **amerdism (Chapter 12):** Thank you! To answer your questions in order: There is no defined number of ships in the Eternal Fleet outside of the quote 'More vast than any ever built' in relation to the Republic and Sith Empire, plus the numbers of the Eternal Fleet still outmatched the combined fleets of the Republic and Empire. The army of Zakuul is comprised of the Knights of Zakuul and droids. Again there is no defined numbers in the army. The types of droids in the army are Skytrooper droids. Most of the questions about the Eternal Fleet I can't really answer, even if you use Wookipedia since the Knights of the Fallen Empire is new so there's not a lot of information about them.

Maul, however, does wear the black tunic/robes from Season 5 of Clone Wars.

Ralem's description is this- tall ( 6 feet even), slim lean and muscular, short brown spiky hair, wears golden and black armor (designed similarly to the Imperial Knights of the Fel Empire) with the insignia of a tribal sun and crescent moon on his gauntlets and shoulder pads, and his eyes are golden. He wields a golden hilt lightsaber with a matching golden blade.

 ** **The Book of Eli (Chapter 12):**** I bet you are lol. Hopefully the payoff will be worth the wait ;).

 ** **Guest (Chapter 12):**** Ok.

 ** **Guest (Chapter 12):**** Thank you.

 **reptoholic (Chapter 1-12):** Thank you for all those nice reviews and hope you continue to enjoy this story.

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

 **Tython**

The Force was strong with him. His brother had it, his sister had it, his father had it… His other brother had it.

He was the Force in its physical form, its mortal connection to the galaxy. To light the path that the Jedi and Sith had been to blind to see, or too arrogant to acknowledge. 25,000 years wasted. His dream, once crushed by his own beliefs; a sick perversion of his truth twisted by his own people.

Ralem's golden eyes opened as a single droplet of rain landed in front of him on the grass. The damp smell of the earth alerted him too late of the upcoming storm, he sensed it with the Force long ago…

Another drop of rain…

Closer, then farther. In front then behind him.

The Je'daii Kage reached for his only companion on his waist, the low hum of the golden Forcesaber started to sizzle from the on-growing rain. No drops landed on him yet.

A sharp crack of thunder brought a smile to his face. There it was…

Guiding his own actions, Ralem sliced the raindrop to his left then thrusted forward. Five drops, ten drops, twenty three drops.

Soon a golden sphere of fire protected the Je'daii from blistering rain and severe thunder, he could feel the drastic drop in temperature from the warmth of the sun to the desolate chillness now.

Yellow eyes studied from afar, watching his master's blinding strikes slicing the tiniest droplets of rain. Maul knew nothing of his life outside of the Sith teachings, knew nothing of his mother, or the true nature of the Force and the galaxy. In some ways, he thought, neither did his master. His master had created everything in the galaxy, but did not live to see the building corruption that his beliefs, or his plans, set in motion in the last twenty-five thousand years. Yet there was more to the story that his master was willing to tell.

It wouldn't have mattered, it wouldn't change the past. The past rarely affects the future, for history repeats itself regardless. The past only affects the present.

The torrential downpour continued on Tython for the next forty-five minutes, Ralem's golden blade giving the Zabrak Je'daii a focus for his meditation, his yellow eyes still focused on his master.

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

"Have you finished analyzing the Infinite technology?" Ralem asked, focusing his golden eyes on the GEMINI Prime, codenamed: SCORPIO.

The feminine droid's orange sensors continued to analyze the data on the multiple holo-screens. " _The process is completed. It is quite an impressive technological marvel, unlike many things from my existence of three millennium._ "

"And the same technology I can deliver to the galaxy," Ralem continued. "In exchange for allegiance to the Je'daii Empire."

SCORPIO looked away from the screen and to the Je'daii Kage. " _You are a curious creature, Je'daii._ "

"Not that curious," Ralem smirked and focused his attention to the data. "I assume you can interact with the technology and upload it into the Eternal Fleet."

" _It will take time but it is possible._ "

Ralem nodded. "Alert me when the process begins and when it ends. I must leave and begin to grow my Empire." Maul followed his master, leaving the feminine droid to continue her research. "Time draws closer my apprentice," he took a breath. "I can feel it."

"Yes my master," Maul stated. "The Force is shifting in our favor."

"It is shifting, yes," the Je'daii Kage repeated softly.

"But you have doubts," the Zabrak said.

"Concerns," Ralem corrected. "I fear for what is yet to come, and for what you lack to comprehend. Somethings even I can not teach you." The Je'daii's pace quickened. "But those will be my worries, not yours. You will maintain relations with the Mandalorians… keep your eyes and ears on Duchess Satine."

"As you wish."

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

 **Bardotta; several hours later…**

The flow of the Force on Bardotta was tranquil like the strong current of a flowing river. Ralem watched the thin misty clouds hanging around his legs on the chilled mountain side, the sound of blaster fire and the screech of starfighter engines rang in his ears.

Now the odd silence called to him.

Appreciating the feudal architecture, Ralem stepped from the circular landing platform and entered the Bardottan Royal Palace, immediately halting at the squad of palace guards.

"Halt intruder!" the Bardottan guard ordered, pointing his spear at the Je'daii. "State your reason for this intrusion."

"I request an audience with Queen Julia, for an alliance," Ralem stated matter-of-factly. "Your people have a very spiritual outlook on the Force, I'm quite surprised given how low the Jedi have fallen."

The guards hesitated and ever so slightly lowered their weapons. "What are you then?"

"I am a Je'daii. The first and last of my people, we follow the tenets of balance, choice, knowledge, and power as our guiding path to enlightenment in the Force," explained Ralem.

"What could you hope to gain with an alliance with our Queen?"

Ralem smirked. "I was hoping to ask her myself."

The guards looked at each other, then nodded. "We will take you to her. Follow us."

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

The low lighting candles decorating the center of the large cavernous room created a mystical mood. The council of Bardottans circled above the Je'daii, looking down on him from their holy place.

"Reminds me of home," Ralem said aloud, his hand hovering over one of the candles. The heat on his hand caught his attention for a second. "Your people have a unique understanding of the Force, perhaps not too far off from my own."

The Bardottan Queen crossed her leg, inspecting the stranger in her court. "You are not a Jedi, are you?"

Ralem shook his head. "I am something more than a public servant of the Galactic Republic, your highness. What I am is difficult to explain as my story is as old as the stars."

"And you desire something of us, I assume. What is it you seek?"

"An alliance- your word, your trust, and much more," Ralem answered. The Je'daii inhaled and the flames of the candles flared wildly and with vigor under his control. "I know your people's mistrust of the Jedi- taking your newborns away from their fathers and mothers and families, and make them servants."

The Bardottan council glanced to each other, surprise and worry fluxing in their core.

"I never wanted this- for the galaxy to separated from one another. The Republic was only meant to be a short term solution against the threat of the time: the Infinite Empire, about twenty-five thousand years ago by my calculations," Ralem continued.

"He speaks of nonsense!" cried one Bardottan councilman. "Our people gain nothing from him! He must be a Jedi, trying to sneak himself back into our good graces and steal our people from us."

Firm golden eyes focused on the Bardottan Queen, sensing her reluctance and hesitation. "Look at me. Do I wear the robes of a subservient Jedi? Do I harness the power and arrogance of the Dark side? I am not Sith. I am not a Jedi. I am a Je'daii, I am the embodiment of the Force; the fire and light of knowledge to cast away the ignorance that has casted upon the galaxy during my absence. And I will correct that mistake, I just need people who I can trust and who can trust me."

The Bardottan Queen reflected on the young man's words, her eyes shifting wordlessly from her council members. They didn't trust the stranger. She, however, was intrigued by his nature. He told the truth- he wasn't a Jedi. She knew not from his armor, but through his connection to the Force and how he talked of it.

"I am Queen Julia and I speak for the Bardottan people," Queen Julia spoke, silencing the squabble that mocked her courtroom. Standing from her throne, she descended down the flight of stairs and entered the circle where the Je'daii stood. Being five inches taller than the Je'daii, the Bardottan Queen tilted her head slightly downward to observe him better.

She was a beautiful specimen, noted Ralem. Yellow skin, fiery red hair, or feathers…

"The Dagoyan Order focuses on asceticism and meditation, striving to form a strong and personal connection to the Force. We avoid the light and dark aspects of the Force, we form a passive connection to the Force. We avoid using the Force as a tool to affect the physical world, and avoid objectifying the Force in a moral way," Queen Julia informed. She stared at Ralem, her curious blue eyes locked with his golden orbs. "What does your Je'daii believe in?"

"We have four tenets that build our foundation: Balance, Choice, Knowledge and Power. Each of these tenets affect the other in our quest to bring balance in the Force," explained Ralem. "The latter three affect the outcome the greatest; it is our power that affects our knowledge, it is our knowledge that guides our choices, and it is our choices that affect the balance. The beauty of our belief is that it is ever-changing; we are learning and growing not only in strength but in knowledge and wisdom too."

"You never make the same mistake twice, I take it." A warm smile grew on the Bardottan's beak. "A very interesting ideology you follow. Quite unlike the Jedi, so set in their ways."

"Tends to happen when one grows complacent in their cradle of power," Ralem agreed. "If I may your highness, I would be honored to show you my connection to the Force in a way you may be familiar with."

Queen Julia's eyes danced in high spirits. "I would very much like to see what you have in store."

Ralem offered a hand of friendship. "I simply offer a truth you may not have considered. We all must learn new things."

 **-** ** **Rise of the Je'daii Empire-****

The Queen's private meditation chamber was oh so familiar to the Je'daii architecture on Tython. Yes, the Queen would make a fine ally to his cause. Ralem waited in the center of the room as Queen Julia closed the door behind her, ordering her guards not to disturb them.

"You ever wonder how life began?" pondered Ralem aloud. He turned his head to face the Queen, watching her graceful legs saunter towards him.

"I don't suppose that is a trick question," Julia said, smiling kindly as she stood next to the Je'daii. "However I believe there is a purpose for life."

 _Purpose._

"Purpose is…" Ralem laughed quietly. "It's something."

Julia squinted with playful musing. "Not quite the answer I was expecting to hear from someone who claims to be 'knowledgeable'."

"It's a never-ending journey. Knowledge expands so does ones power, which influences the choices we make."

"Which affects the 'balance' of the Force."

"It's a beautiful system of the Je'daii. It's simple, easy to understand and maintain… but there is consequence to free will and choice- it can corrupt your purpose."

"A bold statement," stated Julia. "Doesn't it contradict your belief?"

Ralem shrugged his shoulders. "Not really, because it's the truth. Purpose is a fundamental aspect of our lives, why do we think we repeat that question over and over, ' _Who am I?_ ' and ' _What is my purpose in life?_ '. If you choose your own purpose, you're only looking at a small piece of a vastly infinite picture; it would be arrogant for any one person to make their own purpose without proper experience which leads to wisdom."

The Je'daii Kage extended his hand to the Queen. "Everything has a beginning. Once you find the origin then you can understand the true nature of the Force. Think of the Force as a tree; the leaves and branches represent the Jedi and Sith, they are plenty of them but on a tree it's all people focus on. The trunk shows the duality of light and dark becoming one with Revan and his Revanites in the Old Republic. And the roots and seed of the tree is me and the Je'daii, for without that seed the tree would not grow. However without the soil that very same seed cannot flourish, which is the Force. With balance comes unity, and I will unite the galaxy to the glory it should've been a long time ago."

 ** **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-****

 ** **Tython****

The hustle and bustle of the Je'daii at Bodhi, the Temple of the Arts, startled the Bardottan Queen immensely. The sudden yelp from the Queen halted any sign of activity at the temple; the whimsical music stopped their joyous sounds, curious as to the new arrival of their master's guest.

Ralem waved his hand and immediately the festivities continued as normal. "It's almost poetic, how alike our people are. They sort of… rhyme." Holding out his arm, the Je'daii Kage guided the Queen through the mass of his people. "I do apologize for the sudden teleportation but it would've taken too long of a trip by ship."

Taking a slow, calming breath the Queen continued her observation. "I must admit I'm very… I don't think there's any words to be said."

"Maybe it's for the best," chuckled Ralem. "Taking the sights in is a lot harder to refute. You'll return home shortly, or immediately if you wish, but I pray that you take my offer into heavy consideration."

The heavy beating of her heart and the sudden actions of the Je'daii still rattled the Queen's nerves. "Of course, though I wish to understand what you plan for the Jedi and the Republic fully. If what you say about yourself is true."

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

 **Coruscant; Padme's office**

Kaleb Solaris gazed lazily out of the panoramic window, the sun's warm glow casting its sleeping spell on him. His golden eyes flickered towards the Naboo Senator idly doing her work at her desk. They had sat in relative silence for several minutes, it was nice and relaxing.

The Je'daii's stomach churned as his recollection of Lanoree contended with the image of Padme. Was the guilt of his past blinding him now? Was he even trying to build a better future? To bring balance to the Force? Or was he simply…

"You'll have a lot of work ahead of yourself in the future," Padme announced, causing the Je'daii to double-take her sudden words. "And lazing around staring me isn't going to help."

"I need some form of motivation," grinned Kaleb teasingly. "And a beautiful woman is certainly the easiest." The gaze from Padme caused Kaleb's shoulders to partially tense. "It's sorta true… Sorry." Standing from his chair, the Senator from Tython walked over to the female Senator's desk and sat on the edge of it. "It's a lot more of a burden than I thought it would be, you know? Doing what you have to for your people."

Padme placed her hand on the troubled young man's hand, trying to ease his worries. "I know how you feel. I was fourteen when I was elected to become Queen of Naboo, and I was…" She stifled an amusing laugh, shaking her head with her beautiful crossing her lips. "But I had to do what I believe was right for my people. You'll be fine, don't worry. I'll be here if you need help."

"It's nice to know that a beautiful woman is expecting me with open arms," Kaleb chuckled as Padme slapped his hand for his shameless flirtation. However an amusing smirk crossed her lips as well. Kaleb shook his hand from the slight pain. He looked to his hand then return his gaze to Padme, his eyes softening. "I don't meany to pry but have you thought about what you'd do after, I don't know, you finished your time with politics?"

"I actually haven't," Padme replied honestly. She was always so focused on doing what was best for Naboo and the Republic that she hadn't thought of herself. Nor did she think that it wouldn't be prudent to do so. Though after the events of the Invasion of Naboo, some thoughts dwindled in the back of her mind. "My life has always been dedicated to serving the needs of others and speaking for those who can't speak for themselves."

"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few," quipped Kaleb. "Still there must be something you've dreamed of." Padme smiled and leaned back in her chair.

"I suppose I just want to spend my final days on Naboo with my family, down by Varykino that's where our family retreat home is." Kaleb smiled fondly at her dream.

"Apparently great minds think alike. I've actually been to Varykino before, a long time ago," Kaleb's voice softened at the last words. Everything seemed so long ago, yet…

"Would you like to come with me?" offered Padme. The Senator from Tython glanced at her confusingly. "To Naboo to see my family, I think it'd be a nice treat for the both of us."

"I, uh, don't know," Kaleb stated in a state of fluster. He didn't expect Padme to offer her home to him. "I don't see why not, you've been very busy and with my sudden appearance on the scene-"

"Don't worry about that," hushed Padme, returning to her work. "Seeing as how I've been hard at work to prevent the proposition of Military Creation Act."

"Isn't that the bill that's supposed to create an army for the Republic because of all the successions to the Separatist cause?" asked Kaleb.

Padme's face grew grim, her brows furrowed in discernment however nodding silently. "I just can't imagine any reason why anyone would support the notion of starting a war."

Shrugging his shoulders, Kaleb waltzed over to the large window. "Technically haven't the Separatists already courted the idea of war? Since they're breaking away from the Republic? And even then, I imagine that the Republic would want them back in the fold so I doubt diplomatic measures would change their minds."

Padme drummed her fingers along her desk. "Some would see it that way. I don't. I believe that diplomacy can save lives and work to ensure equality for all."

"So there aren't any problems with the Republic?" Kaleb inquired, looking over his shoulder. "Doesn't seem that way to the Separatists."

"I'll admit that the Republic has strayed off its path but it's nothing that can't be fixed."

Kaleb Solaris turned to face the Naboo Senator, his hands folded behind his back. "I guess that's true though it depends on what point of view the Separatists see as faults within the Republic. When's the date for the bill?"

"Soon. Very soon," Padme answered. "Which was why I was unsure about leaving earlier but I think going home might do me good. I've been cooped up in this office for days and weeks now."

"And thank you for inviting me to come along," thanked Kaleb. "I appreciate it."

The Naboo Senator smiled gently at the young man. "It's no problem, it'll ease your mind from all the paperwork of the Republic." The Senators laughed, soft sounds of enthusiasm and enjoyment bonding the two even closer than before. "You might want to start packing, we'll leave once I'm finished."

"No rush then," quipped Kaleb, relaxing in his seat. "You'll be done by the time I'm dead." Padme rolled her eyes but smiled endearingly as the Tython Senator closed his eyes, a childish grin flashing on his lips.

 **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-**

 **Naboo; Varykino**

The warm spring sun basked its holy glow upon the serene waters of the Lake Country, the calls of Quadducks sang overhead and flew past the glows of Naboo's sun. Everything the Je'daii Kage had worked for, sacrificed for, all hinged on a few short moments. For too long had he wasted his potential… no, _they_ had took advantage of _him_. His power, his knowledge, his influence, his grace, his mercy… all for what?

Democracy?

Equality?

Self-entitlement?

The Je'daii's golden eyes flared like a dying star before it exploded into a supernova. Power came at a price. Sacrifice, _his_ sacrifice, was already too much of a price. He had time to stall until the results from SCORPIO came in. A shiver of something powerful crawled up his spine. He knew what it was.

"You look rather stressed, are you ok?" asked Padme, her beautiful… The Je'daii kept his stern gaze focused on the lakeside.

"Well as I can be," Kaleb answered with melancholic indifference. Padme noticed his stiff shoulders, and as she leaned over the edge of the stone railing saw the glower on the sixteen year old. "I never imagined that it would be this hard. To have this burden on you, it's easy enough when it's by yourself but when you're dealing with everyone in the galaxy… I don't even know how a democracy could last this long."

"Many good things come easily, other good things sometimes show us who we are. What defines us isn't what people think of us, it's whether we can live by what we believe to be true."

"And what if you believe to be true isn't anymore? What then?" Kaleb asked. Leaning away from the railing, he tightened his grip with superhuman strength but not enough to crack it.

"That's quite the predicament then, I don't know. All I believe is that someone should be the wielder of truth and should be a voice for those who can't speak for themselves."

"Maybe that's their problem," Kaleb said.

Padme frowned at the dark comment. "And who are you to make such a claim?"

"Who are you to defend those who can't defend themselves?" countered Kaleb, his golden orbs fixing on her. Standing to his full height of six foot even, the Je'daii towered the Senator by six inches. "They won't learn at all, they'll keep being weak since they know someone will defend them at all times. It prevents progression and only increases weakness. Maybe that's why my people left the Republic."

"Then why did you come back if we're so 'weak'?" Padme defended, her anger clear in her voice.

Kaleb Solaris glared at the Senator, golden orbs of the sun clashed against the determination of all he had ever created. She reminded him too much of her…

"Desperate times called for desperate measures," Kaleb said softly. "I did what I had to for my people, I didn't know what else to do."

"Doesn't explain your actions," Padme continued.

"You don't honestly think the Republic's the only side with angels, do you?" Kaleb eyed her condescendingly, turning his gaze back to the lake. "There's something you should know. Back on Tython there's an ancient history of my people, there was a time where the Jedi and Sith didn't exist; there was only one Order of the Force. They were called the Je'daii." Kaleb leaned his head slowly back, contemplating the bright beauty of the sky. "They had four tenants that they lived by and how they defined the Force- Balance, Choice, Knowledge and Power. Each of these tenants influenced the other, they weren't separate."

Padme eased her frown as she listened to the young man, her frown replaced with inquisitive enlightenment.

"There is no Light or Dark sides of the Force as the Jedi and Sith believe, that's a lie," Kaleb continued, his words even and soft. "There is only the Force and the mysteries that it holds. Kinda like a rainbow." He grinned at the teachings of the Aing-Tii, how their world was divided by black and white. "Or maybe something more, who knows." Kaleb leaned forward on his folded arms, his left thumb rubbing on the knuckles of his right hand. "The Je'daii from what I understood were… I don't want to say idealists, but they _knew_ and _understood_ what and who they were."

"Did they work together to achieve their common goal?" Padme asked.

Kaleb's brow pressed together, unreassuring feelings rising within him.

"Because that is how democracy works: people from all walks of life coming together in order to achieve prosperity," Padme said, resting her hand on the Tython Senator's arm. "It's difficult at times, but it's those hardships that fold the gaps and help us cross it."

"What hardships?" asked Kaleb. "What hardships do they face? The only reason why people suffer is because they believe in something so blindly that they'll kill themselves for it. Only for that same belief to be changed or tweak later on, so they died for nothing. Choice based on limited knowledge is not a choice, it's slavery; you do what your told and you don't question it." The Senator from Tython gripped Padme's shoulders firmly, his golden orbs shone brightly; the sins of his failures, his choices, led him to this moment, where the galaxy remained divided because of what they _thought_ and _believed_ was true. "People have never been smart, if they were then they wouldn't need government or leaders; they'd rule themselves. But they won't. They can't because they don't know any better. You learn things, you don't know them off hand. You grow, you struggle, you adapt, you evolve; there is no equality, there is progression."

The Je'daii lowered his hands from Padme's shoulders, tracing his hands down her soft arms and to her hands, taking them into his own. He contemplated on the meaning of their grip; it wasn't awkward, but there was a spark of tension. And it was growing…

The brown eyes of the slightly older woman understood the burden that he was drowning in; the insecurities, doubt, anxiety, the instability and uncertainty. Pulling the young man closer to her, Padme brought Kaleb into a comforting hug; she heard the rapid heartbeat of the young Senator, bringing a smile of bemusement to herself.

"I don't claim to have all the answers, and I never will. I wouldn't want that, it would ruin the beauty and mystery of what I love," Padme said gently, observing the quiet elegance of the lakeside. "You can't control everything and everyone, even if you think or know you have all the answers."

"That's probably the most selfish thing I've ever heard," Kaleb stated, a quiet snort coming from the Senator of Tython. "You would continue the slaughter of the people and their "beliefs" and "truths" because you don't want to hurt their feelings?"

"Everytime a person rises above the rest and demands for everyone to drop their points of views for whatever reason they claim, it reveals the selfishness of that one man," countered Padme, her body becoming firm in his grasp. "He's only helping himself in the guise of peace and equality for control and power."

Kaleb rubbed her back reassuringly, his mind continuing its storm of thoughts. "Isn't that everybody does? Control and manipulate others for what they believe to be truth, to get what they want? Sounds no different than the one man controlling everyone, the difference is that the more noble person doesn't realize what she's saying."

The sudden disappearance of Padme's warmth told the Je'daii how cold and alone he really was; the Naboo Senator trekked to the stone railing and rested over the ledge, her curly brown hair flowing in the soft breeze. Her cream-beige gown fluttered in angelic grace, and the Je'daii knew why she reminded him of Lanoree; the angelic beauty, the quiet confidence that many men would never have, the firm conviction in her eyes when she spoke.

So many similarities, yet one difference he should've known already: Padme was not Lanoree.

Was he trying to replace her?

His golden eyes sobered in late realization. Taking his place next to her, Kaleb rubbed his hands together in quiet thought. That's all he did now… just think… contemplate his failures… question everything that he suffered and worked for.

"Nothing is built on stone; everything is built on sand, but you must build as if sand was stone," Kaleb noted, tilting his head downward towards the stone railing, picking at it with his index finger. "Sand is flimsy… it's rough, coarse and irritating, it's pretty much worthless really." Padme tilted her head towards the young man, unsure of what to make of his sudden proclamation.

Kaleb stretched his hand outward towards the lake, his golden eyes focused on the parting waters. The shock and awe and disbelief in Padme's eyes trickled into a sense of mysticism and surrender, watching the moist stream of sand come towards them. The Je'daii levitated the sand within his hands, the fluidity of its movement was alluring and graceful.

"Yet in the right hands, with an eye for fault and detail, and the passion of a creator," Kaleb continued, pressing his hands firmly on top of the sand; a bright golden light flashed between his fingers, startling Padme briefly, and when the young man eased his grip displayed an elegant crystallized tribal sun. "You give birth to power and knowledge. And the combination of these two ideals can make one a god." Feeling the divinity of her skin upon his, Kaleb handed her the crystal sun. "You are right about one thing, about sacrifice," he closed her hand on top of the sun, holding his grip for a passing moment before letting go. "However one of our sacrifices will bear fruit for the galaxy and its people."

Her heart tried to remain steady, trying to compose herself of what she had just witnessed; the talks, the display of power rivaling of a Jedi… the slight chill of her skin when he touched her. Opening her hand, Padme studied the intricate detail of Kaleb's gift, watching the young man himself walk back into the villa.

 ** **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-****

The twilight of the sunset called upon the times drawing near. Kaleb Solaris, Ralem Solstice, the Je'daii Kage… a man holding many names and titles, yet his dream to bring the galaxy back into balance was his only source of strength.

The color of the sunset was rather unique; a yellow-silver-white color shone against the large, thick clouds still in the sky. Like the binary sunset, telling him of many forebodings and fortunes that awaited him. One path, many dangers… yet he understood the dangers better than all. He had created those perils in the beginning, soon he would end it. And all will follow him to an age none ever dared to dream, to live a true utopia guided by the mind of the body and the spirit of the soul.

' _The true nature of the Force_ ,' mused Ralem. ' _It can be divided by pieces, yet its presence is all-consuming and all knowing. Only the Force can exist if there is to be balance. No Light, no Dark… no Jedi, no Sith. Only the path of progression can save the people from themselves._ '

How to convince them would be his biggest challenge. His power and mind were unrivaled in the galaxy, he had orchestrated all the transpiring events into motion. He created the galaxy… He was a creator, for he was created.

"Dinner is ready," Padme called out softly, standing a small distance from the Force wielder. His posture strong and composed, he turned to face Padme; she had time to adjust assuringly from his small confession a few hours ago. But it wasn't the full truth.

Would he tell her? Should he tell-

"Thank you, Padme," Kaleb said, offering a smile of gratitude. The Naboo Senator nodded solemnly, a tiny flicker of a smile caught his eye.

 ** **-Rise of the Je'daii Empire-****

The crackling of the open fire broke the silence between Padme and Kaleb, sitting on opposite ends of the couch. The air was rigid, neither one could properly take a breath. His own guilt was beginning to rile him up, his frustration starting to show in the tension of his shoulders. The dark maroon threads of the furniture and rug invoked a certain kind of power; capturing the young couple in its grasp.

"You're one of the Je'daii, aren't you?" Padme asked, softly enough that Ralem almost missed it.

"I am," he answered, shifting his body to face her directly. He wanted to say something else, however he kept seeing Lanoree everytime he blinked… it wasn't fair to her, to him, or to Padme. He needed to try to move on from his sins, his past, everything that he couldn't control. "Of all the things I've told you, I've only lied to you once- my name is Ralem Solstice, not Kaleb Solaris."

"I imagine that there is more that you haven't told me," ventured Padme, her gaze unblinking. "Even if you haven't said a single lie, choosing which words to say and which you wanted me to hear."

"What I say is too much for anyone in this time, or any time, to believe full heartedly without proof," Ralem stated. "And it will open a door that I can't risk opening. Not yet." He reached out and grabbed her hand firmly, ignoring the tense hesitation he felt from her. "Who I am is something you can never fully accept, because I'm not one of you." Padme pulled her hand away, backing away from him now, concern and worry etched on her face. She was beginning to become afraid of him, afraid of the unknown; he knew this, but he had little choice now.

"What are you saying?" demanded Padme.

Ralem felt his hand shake for the tiniest moment, he felt like the ten year old child he was when he first landed on Tython. He had grown past that stage, he was a god now. The only he feared… was his own failures, the failures of doing nothing.

"It's true… all of it," Ralem began, standing from his seat. "Everything I've told you- the Republic, the people, the Force, the Jedi, the Sith, Democracy. It's all true. I am the reason why the galaxy exists, why the Republic was created, why the Je'daii was born. When I created the Republic, it was to combat against the Infinite Empire- beings who would cruelly enslave those who had ties to the Force. That was twenty-five thousand years ago Padme, I was born to create peace and bring balance to all living beings. And I would've done it."

Padme's demeanor twisted and contorted, the onslaught of many emotions swirled on her face. Concern, fear, anger, uncertainty, regret, sadness- he could feel it as if it were his own. Perhaps they were his own…

"Why didn't you?" Padme finally asked, her voice strained with unsauntered emotion.

Ralem scoffed, shrugging his shoulders in a haughty manner. "I've been asking that for a long time. Perhaps I was afraid I would get what I wanted. Maybe I was concerned that everything I built would fall around me, even if I had all the power in the universe." He shook his head, glancing away from her and stared at the starry night sky. "Maybe… I like it. To feel this," he gestured his stomach in a swirl. "It gives me purpose, a goal to strive towards. All my life I've been suffering to get where I am, and it worked. I deserve this. Happiness was never be an option for me. Power is the ability to take action, to move forward; not get what you want most."

Her eyes glossed over in regret upon seeing the facade of the Force God begin to break, his throat bobbed up and down trying to maintain his composure. She could feel his internal torment, it was hard pressed against her. This type of pain was too real to be ignored, too real to say anything. But she had to know…

"Do I remind you-"

The Je'daii shook his head, not wanting to hear aloud what he already knew. "Don't ask me that." His voice wavered, Padme knew now.

"You must have loved her greatly," Padme said gently, gaining the newfound courage to walk up to him. "You have a good taste in women," she joked, trying to ease the young man in any way she could.

Ralem smiled, a soft snort following. "You look almost exactly like her." Facing towards Padme, observing the twin silver bands on her forehead, the way her loop scarf framed around her neck and down her dress, to her very dress itself; the obsidian corset hung her figure very tightly, very seductively to the normal eye. "You're a bit more bold than her that's for sure, but…" He paused, resting his hands on the sides of her neck, placing his thumbs on her cheek, softly stroking them. "I can't do this. It's not fair to any of us. I'm not strong enough to go through this again." Ralem rested his forehead against Padme, his lips too close to hers. That selfish desire lingered in him. Backing away, the Je'daii's golden eyes flickered in confusion when Padme grabbed his wrists with more strength than he was expecting.

Brown eyes observed the golden twin suns in front of her, her silent thoughts betraying the smirk that etched on her lips. "You told me that the Je'daii valued four tenets: Balance, Choice, Knowledge and Power. In certain situations, you have to take a leap of faith, regardless of the consequences that you know exist. That's what makes life is grand and mysterious." Wrapping her arms around Ralem's neck, the bold kiss from her triggered Ralem to possessively grab her and deepen the kiss. The sweet fragrance from Padme edged Ralem forward, his hands roaming demandingly against her clothes and body. The bold, natural scent of the earth and nature brought a sense of ease and comfort to Padme, running her hands against his short brown hair.

"... Stay with me," Padme panted, finally breaking away from their lustful endeavor. "Tonight… please." She pecked his lips multiple times, smothering and smearing her lips in a subservient manner, and grinding her body against his in her silent plea. The low growl of the Force God was the last sound she heard from him before he spun her around and grabbed the loop scarf, pulling it tightly against her throat. The sudden asphyxiation and abrupt domination made her loins moist, his hot breath on her ear only adding the delicious desire.

The Je'daii kissed her ear and licked her neck, his body pressing firmly against her back. "When I claim you, I claim all of you, not just the parts that you show me or I show you. I won't allow a wall to separate us in any sense of the word. I will give you the chance to back away now, I will leave and never return. What happens after tonight… it will change everyone's lives in the galaxy, and I won't be able to protect you."

"Then protect me tonight," Padme demanded, forcing herself to turn around and face the Je'daii. "And only tonight." She tugged on her loop scarf, signaling the Force God to continue their sensual delights. Releasing the scarf, Ralem ripped apart the corset with ease, his golden eyes absorbing the sensual sight of her bountiful breasts. "I am yours and you are mine…" She handed Ralem the crystal tribal sun he had given her earlier, a symbol of their new bond… and of their rebirth.

 **A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!**

 **…** **My God… I have returned with this story after a year! AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!**

 **In all seriousness, I apologize for taking WAY too long to get this out. But fortunately there is good news, this is the last "filler" chapter before we get into the real meat of the story!**

 **But I think you'll enjoy this little bit of character development for Ralem, and the growing romance between him and Padme, which I think kinda works as the comparison between Padme and Lanoree is a pretty good twist shall we say to explore in a romance.**

 **Ralem's Collective:**

Ahsoka Tano, Asajj Ventress, Padme Amidala, Riyo Chuchi, Satele Shan, Shae Vizla, Shaak Ti, Aayla Secura, Luminara Unduli, Barriss Offee, Tiplee, Tiplar, Bo-Katan Kryze, Miraj Scintel, Steele Gerrea, The Daughter, Mina Bonteri, Jarael, Vaylin, Senya Tirall, Sola Naberrie, Breha Organa, Fem Revan, Meetra Surik, Celeste Mourne, Keelyvine Reus, Jaesa Willsaam, Darth Zannah, Visas Marr, Raskta Lsu, Leia Organa, Siri Tachi, Syal Antilles Fel, Rig Nema, Lolo Purs, Mon Mothma, Atris, Fem Anakin Skywalker

 **Power Scaling-**

 **Solar System to Solar System+ level:**

Naga Sadow ( _with Sith Corsaid and Sith relics through Dark Side Magic_ )

World Razor ( _Destroyed 100 stars and 1,000 planets as according to the Rakata ruins and the Failsafe; the full power of the Infinite Empire was needed to defeat it_ )

 **Star to Star+ level:**

Father

Abeloth

 **Planet to Planet+ level:**

Grand Master Luke Skywalker

Ralem Kyo Solstice ( _potentially higher to Star level_ )

Son ( _Large Planet_ _; possibly Star level_ )

Daughter ( _Large Planet_ _; possibly Star level_ )

Darth Sidious ( _Small Planet_ )

Yoda ( _Small Planet; contained Sidious' lighting for a few seconds_ )

Valkorion ( _Small Planet; after the ritual on Ziost_ )

Darth Nihilus ( _Potentially if he absorbs enough Force power from said planet, but constant hunger staves off from full use of his power_ )

Mace Windu ( _Small Planet_ _with_ _the continued use of Vaapad against his fight with Sidious in ROTS_ )

Darth Plageuis ( _Small Planet;_ _severely altered Naboo's climate just by briefly visiting the planet_ _._ _Per tenants of the Rule of Two, he should at least be comparable to_ _Darth Sidious_ _and has knowledge of the abilities of previous Sith Elites like Exar Kun and Emperor Vitiate_ )

 **Moon to Moon+ level:**

Sith Emperor/Vitiate

Arcann ( _Matched and overpowered the Hero of Tython/Outlander_ )

Thexan ( _Was considered a bit higher than Arcann himself_ )

Vaylin

Revan ( _Possibly; Force visions from Lord Scourge predicted that either Vitiate or Revan could come out on top_ )

 **Multi-Continent to Multi-Continent+ level:**

Galen Marek/Starkiller ( _Comparable to Darth Vader; previously Continent level_ )

Darth Vader ( _His training as a Sith Lord has noticeably increased his power from his previous peak as Anakin Skywalker; previously Continent level_ )

Darth Bane

Darth Nihilus ( _Razed the surface of Katarr and killed all life on the planet sans Visas Marr_ _; Force Drain_ )

Darth Malak

Darth Plageuis

Count Dooku ( _One of the most powerful Jedi the Order had ever produced, even before his powers became enhanced by becoming a Sith Lord_ )

Darth Maul ( _appears to be comparable to_ _, i_ _f not slightly weaker than, Darth Tyranus per Son of Dathomir_ )

Anakin Skywalker ( _Surpassed Darth Tyranus at his peak in Revenge of the Sith_ )

Obi-Wan Kenobi ( _Telekinetically stalemated a Darth Vader that, while emotionally compromised, was still well above his Padawan self in raw power_ )

Ki-Adi Mundi ( _He's a member of the Jedi Council, so he should be comparable to Obi-Wan Kenobi_ )

Meetra Surik ( _Managed to defeat Darth Traya_ )

Shaak Ti ( _Same as Ki-Adi Mundi_ )

Aayla Secura ( _Same as Ki-Adi Mundi_ )

Plo Koon ( _Same as Ki-Adi Mundi_ )

Kreia/Darth Traya

 **Country to Country+ level:**

Ajunta Pall

Satele Shan ( _Is a peer of Darth Malgus_ )

Darth Malgus

Darth Sion ( _Small Country_ )

Bastila Shan ( _Small Country_ )

 **Island to Island+ level:**

Ahsoka Tano

Barriss Offee


End file.
